The lopsided loss ended an 11-fight win streak for du Plessis, who was a perfect 9-0 since joining the UFC in 2020 but now has to go back to the drawing board after losing his title. <\/p>\n
The South African understandably took a bit of time to process the loss at UFC 319 before sharing an update on Instagram<\/a>, where du Plessis celebrated Chimaev\u2019s performance while also promising that the loss had lit a fire under him.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Islam Makhachev uncovers biggest hurdle to make UFC title fight vs. Ilia Topuria<\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s only failed to get his hand raised three times out of 26 professional MMA fights, but Du Plessis has already shown the ability to bounce back in a big way following the two losses he suffered before joining the UFC.<\/p>\n Dricus Du Plessis Murphy (red gloves) and Khamzat Chimaev (blue gloves) react after their fight during UFC 319 at United Center. \/ Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The 31-year-old was submitted by future UFC fighter Gareth McLellan in 2014 before going on to become a two-division EFC champion and also win the KSW welterweight title. After losing the KSW belt<\/a> in a rematch with Roberto Soldi\u0107, he won back-to-back fights to earn a call from the UFC and knocked out Markus Perez in his promotional debut. <\/p>\n With two title defenses to his name, du Plessis could still make a case for an immediate rematch with Chimaev even after the South African was controlled for nearly the entire fight at UFC 319. <\/p>\n READ MORE: Aljamain Sterling reveals injury from Brian Ortega fight and it looks awful<\/a><\/p>\n There are several other options for the newly-crowned middleweight champion outside of du Plessis. Top-ranked contenders Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho are set to headline UFC Paris next month<\/a>, and the UFC also just recently announced another huge middleweight tilt <\/a>between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez. <\/p>\n Dricus Du Plessis Murphy (red gloves) fights Khamzat Chimaev (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. \/ Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Although he\u2019s been largely dominant throughout his UFC run, some fans have expressed concern about how active Chimaev may be as middleweight champion. \u201cBorz\u201d famously joined the promotion with two wins in less than two weeks<\/a> in 2020, but the 31-year-old hasn\u2019t competed twice in the same year since he beat Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland in 2022. <\/p>\n \u2022 UFC confirms banger debut fight for two-division MMA champion at UFC Paris<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Rampage Jackson breaks silence as son explains motive for violent assault<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 MMA fighter steals spotlight with brutal head kick KO after early UFC Shanghai card<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Dan Hooker plots UFC comeback against boogeyman everyone is avoiding<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with MMAKnockout<\/a> for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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