A former heavyweight desires to see Dricus du Plessis move up two weight classes after UFC 319.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces arguably the hardest test of his middleweight title reign at UFC 319. Du Plessis and undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev headline a stacked card in Chicago, in Chimaev’s long-awaited first title shot.
Du Plessis hasn’t fought above the middleweight limit in his MMA profession, fighting as little as 170 lbs as he garnered experience in South Africa. His recent wins over the likes of Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland have skyrocketed Du Plessis’s stock within the middleweight GOAT conversation.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has repeatedly touted Du Plessis’s size for the middleweight division, labeling the titleholder as massive for the load class. One other UFC analyst believes Du Plessis can turn out to be the primary fighter within the promotion’s history to win three belts.
Brendan Schaub forecasts Dricus du Plessis to fight at heavyweight after UFC 319
Du Plessis’s return at UFC 319 comes at a time wherein multiple top stars, including Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, have hinted at pursuing belts at multiple weight classes. While the UFC isn’t keen on the concept of champions fighting in several divisions, this leaves the door open for Du Plessis to follow suit.
During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub pushed for Du Plessis to maneuver to his old stomping grounds following UFC 319.
“I believe whoever wins out of Khamzat and DDP, whoever wins that, can go for 3 belts,” Schaub said of Du Plessis.
Schaub then compared Du Plessis and Chimaev’s physical measurements ahead of UFC 319, and believes a heavyweight Du Plessis can be a more natural fit.
“DDP’s larger than Khamzat. So [looking at] light heavyweight, he’s probably a lightweight heavyweight naturally,” Schaub opined. “So it is smart for DDP to go to light heavyweight. Heavyweight isn’t a stretch for him.
“DDP’s a giant boy.”
Du Plessis was near potentially moving as much as challenge then-UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, before Pereira lost to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira returns at UFC 320 next month and has teased a heavyweight move before he ultimately hangs up the gloves.
If Du Plessis can get past Chimaev, the South African star could make a dramatic change for his next appearance within the Octagon. But one middleweight star isn’t putting quite a lot of stock in Du Plessis’s probabilities at hand Chimaev his first-career defeat.
Middleweight star scoffs at Dricus du Plessis’s probabilities to stop Khamzat Chimaev
UFC middleweight Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov predicted that Chimaev would run through Du Plessis within the UFC 319 headliner. After Magomedov’s recent win at UFC Abu Dhabi, Du Plessis trolled the star middleweight on social media in a bizarre tweet.
Many are predicting Chimaev to dethrone Du Plessis of their upcoming UFC 319 headliner. Chimaev, who’s unbeaten in his UFC tenure with middleweight wins over Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman, has been teased as a future titleholder for years.
But Du Plessis possesses a novel style that might Chimaev suits after they meet within the Octagon. He’s proven to have great takedown defense, an attribute needed against an elite grappler like Chimaev.
If Du Plessis stops Chimaev at UFC 319, expect him to get the last laugh against his haters, including Magomedov.