Outside Source
Du Plessis put his middleweight title on the line against Chimaev at UFC 319 in August 2025. Chimaev took Du Plessis down at will and controlled him for five rounds to earn a dominant unanimous decision victory.
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While Du Plessis admits that Chimaev neutralized him, he believes “Borz” played it very safe. Du Plessis claims Chimaev didn’t want to give him any space because the Chechen-born fighter knew that it wouldn’t end well for him. It was a frustrating outing for Du Plessis, who was bored while he was in the fight. However, Du Plessis is working on the specific areas that need improvement, which he identified from the Chimaev loss. The South African vows to display development in his next outing.
‘I Got Bored’
“Not the kind of fight that I would have wanted with all the hype,” Du Plessis told Fight Forecast. “It wasn’t a very fun fight to watch for anyone. I got bored in the fight and I was in there. He did what he had to do to win that belt. If that’s the way you want to go, good for you… He made sure he stayed out of danger. He almost neutralized me. If we’d have made it a fight, it would have been a different story. But he knew that, he was smart in that. Frustrating definitely, but, speedbumps, that’s what makes be better. Now I know the little piece of this puzzle where I need to work on. Believe me, in my next performance you’ll see me deal with that.”
Du Plessis (23-3) was undefeated in nine UFC outings before his loss against Chimaev. “Stillknocks” won the title against Sean Strickland and defended it against Israel Adesanya and in a rematch against Strickland.
Dricus Du Plessis says Khamzat neutralized him and he’s already focused on fixing those areas
“I got bored in the fight. He did what he had to do to win that belt. He made sure he stayed out of danger. He almost neutralized me.”
(Via Fight Forecast) pic.twitter.com/sof5NLmojv
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) January 20, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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