Dricus du Plessis on lopsided Khamzat Chimaev loss: ‘I could feel he didn’t want to be there anymore’
Dricus du Plessis suffered one of the vital lopsided determination losses in UFC title combat historical past final August in his conflict with Khamzat Chimaev. Now, the previous UFC middleweight champion is doing all the things in his energy to course right.
Although the combat entrance has been silent for du Plessis since UFC 319, he’s been placing within the work to enhance. While most fighters could not want to revisit a dominant defeat, that is not the case for “DDP.” Speaking on Tuesday’s version of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” the South African contender shared that he’s been rewatching his Chimaev loss not less than twice per week since September.
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“It was [difficult] in the beginning, because it’s the most boring fight in the world to watch,” du Plessis informed Uncrowned. “So it’s hard getting through it, but yeah, I mean, it’s what needs to be done. And obviously I didn’t like seeing myself losing — I hated it — but that’s how I learn. That was only a learning experience. I watch the fight a lot, actually, and [am] making sure that those same mistakes don’t happen again.
“That’s how I research fights. I might say it took me round three weeks after the combat earlier than I really watched it once more. And then, since then, I’ve watched it very often to guarantee that it is a part of my coaching — watching my fights and understanding what I did incorrect and seeing the errors.”
Du Plessis’ persistence is admirable, given how his fight against Chimaev played out. It was a vintage Chimaev wrestling showcase, with the now-champion facing next to no resistance — du Plessis was taken down 12 times over 25 minutes and out-struck by a whopping 529 strikes to 45, per UFC Stats.
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But du Plessis never hit a breaking point, despite the relentless pressure he was dealt with. He forward pushed until the end and even secured a strong position in the waning seconds. While it wasn’t enough to secure what could’ve been an all-time comeback, du Plessis said Chimaev’s skills never exceeded the expectations he had coming in.
“He wasn’t more durable than I anticipated him to be,” du Plessis said. “I could see on the finish of that combat, once we went to the ultimate spherical, I used to be actually pondering I’m [going to still win] this combat up till I heard that 10-second clapper and I knew it was over. But after I went out for that final spherical, I used to be 100% sure that I’m both going to cease this man or I’m going to knock him out. And after I acquired that takedown, I acquired on prime, acquired within the choke, began touchdown, I used to be beginning to — simply too little too late. I could feel he didn’t want to be there anymore. I could feel it, 100%. Just on the way in which I appeared, simply on the way in which I felt. I could feel after I acquired on prime of him, I could feel he went, ‘Oh s***.’ But he was on prime for the entire combat principally.
“I know I can make that man quit. There’s not a man in life that can break my will. There’s not a man alive that can break me mentally. There’s no way.”
Like du Plessis, Chimaev has additionally remained sidelined since their August showdown. Many count on an eventual pairing between Chimaev and both prime contender Nassourdine Imavov or Sean Strickland within the close to future. Until then, du Plessis is sitting again and assessing the panorama with the remainder of the division.
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But the loss has solely motivated DDP and refueled a brand new fireplace to develop into a two-time champion. Du Plessis nonetheless believes Chimaev is not all the things he’s cracked up to be, and ideally he’ll get an opportunity to someday show it — whether or not at 185 or 205 kilos.
“I would love to fight him for the title,” du Plessis mentioned. “Yeah, I want to get my win back as well. Now, if he goes up to light heavyweight, I will get my belt back, and [then] I’ll go running off to go get him.
“I simply know I’m a extra bodily individual than he is. He was simply higher [at] 10% of this sport than I used to be.”
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While the light heavyweight rumors around Chimaev have been squashed in recent weeks, du Plessis isn’t entirely sold on the prospect of the champ — a former welterweight — finding success in the sport’s second-heaviest division.
“People say he’s so massive. He’s not a giant man,” du Plessis said. “When I acquired in there, I used to be stunned at how small he was, really. He’s lanky and he’s tall, however he’s not a thick man. No, I might say at middleweight, he’s a median strength-wise middleweight. His method on the bottom is superb, his strain on the bottom is superb, and that makes him laborious — that makes him laborious to cope with on the bottom.”
Du Plessis presumably will not be too far off from a shot at redemption as soon as he returns. His two title defenses of his middleweight reign came visiting former champions Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, capping his spectacular UFC win streak at 9 earlier than the Chimaev loss.
After coping with a small damage, du Plessis is focusing on a return round April.
