Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis wants to reclaim what he lost in 2025. Stillknocks” in a recent interview discussed when he plans to return to the octagon.

Dricus du Plessis lost his 185-pound championship last year to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.

The South African had no answer to Chimaev’s dominant wrestling, and hence the title bout was a one-sided affair in which “Borz” secured a control time of more than 21 minutes and took du Plessis down 12 times.

Dricus du Plessis wants to fight at UFC 327, would love to run it back with Khamzat Chimaev

It has been nearly six months since Dricus du Plessis’ title loss, and now the former champ has revealed that he wants to fight in April at UFC 327. Du Plessis told Fight Forecast:

“I’ll be ready for April [UFC 327]… There’s no opponent yet, there’s no contract yet, we don’t have any of that. Whoever, let’s go, I’m ready to go again and get back to my belt as soon as possible. It doesn’t really matter who it is, but of course, I’d love for it to be Khamzat and redeem that loss. For me right now, the next fight is the most important fight of my life, and I will win that fight, and I will get my belt back.”

Dricus du Plessis added that he plans to run it back with Chimaev ASAP and is aware that the second bout could also go the same way as the first, if he does not make the necessary changes to stop “Borz” from taking him down. He added:

“Fighting Khamzat again is what I’m after. Expecting any surprises? No. There’s not going to be any surprises. That is the way he’s going to fight, and if he tries anything different, it will be a terrible night… He did what he had to do to win that belt. We can’t hate on him for that… Now it’s my responsibility to go and fix that to stop him from doing that again and get him to fight my fight… My responsibility is to stop him from doing that, and that’s what I will do.”

Chimaev, on the other hand, is expected to make the first defense of his title after Ramadan 2026 and will most likely face No. 2 contender Nassourdine Imavov.

After one successful title defense, “Borz” plans to move up in pursuit of two-division glory and has been repeatedly calling out light heavyweight kingpin Alex Pereira.

Du Plessis, on the other hand, has predicted that by the end of 2026, he will reclaim his lost glory, with or without a rematch against Chimaev. He added:

“I’ll have my belt back before the end of this year.”

Check out Dricus du Plessis’ comments below (9:23):