Khamzat Chimaev was unsure of one thing when he met Dricus Du Plessis in the hotel lobby.
One half of the UFC 319 main event, Chimaev has been training in California for this fight with TJ Dillashaw and Arman Tsarukyan to change one ‘big’ part of his game plan for the title fight.
This training is seen by those in MMA as a perfect decision for the Chechen because, unlike his opponent Du Plessis, he has not gone the championship distance.
Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Now, since moving to middleweight full-time from welterweight, he has put on weight and grown into the division to become a fully-fledged contender.
Khamzat Chimaev noticed one thing when he faced Dricus Du Plessis in the hotel lobby before UFC 319
He had previously struggled to make the welterweight limit, most notably when he was scheduled to face Nate Diaz, but was forced to switch opponents after missing the 171 lb limit by 7.5 lbs.
Those issues now seem to be behind him and, after he faced his opponent during fight week media interviews, he was supremely confident about his size advantage.
In his interview with Daniel Cormier, ‘Borz’ spoke on how he sized up DDP when they encountered each other in the lobby.
Chimaev said: “For me, it’s nothing personal. Just having fun on Twitter (X) and make fans love each other, like love us and in shape (for) them (and) show them a good show in the cage.
“But he’s not that big, like people say.”
The former two-weight UFC champion was surprised by this revelation, given that the size of ‘Stillknocks’ has been a factor in his success.
When DC mentioned that maybe the weight cut made his opponent on Saturday, August 16th look smaller, he gave a five-word response.
“I’m cutting weight as well,” he said.
The 31-year-old middleweight champion has explained in preparation for the contest that he usually walks around at 230 lbs, meaning a massive 45 lb weight cut just to make the fight official.
Khamzat Chimaev reveals his plans if he wins the title belt from Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319
‘The Wolf’, like his opponent, is full of belief heading into the contest and is already thinking ahead to his next bout.
After almost a year of inactivity, the Russian is looking to get right back into the cage as soon as possible, with one date already in mind if everything goes according to plan.
During the interview, he said: “Of course. Of course. I say if no injury, nothing’s going to happen there. We want to go back in Abu Dhabi, defend my belt.”
After the 46-year-old was shocked by his response, the fighter said it was ‘fast money’, doubling down on comments made in the build-up to this fight that money is more important than the belt.