Dricus du Plessis is already among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport today, but according to his teammate, we may see a brand new version of the UFC’s 185-pound kingpin in Chicago this weekend.
Mark Hulme appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts ahead of his fight last week as part of Oktagon MMA’s Tipsport Gamechanger Tournament, but also took time to discuss his teammate DDP’s title defense against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on Saturday, August 16th.
Hulme previously had a fight with Zack Powell in Toronto in January 2024, over the course of a big weekend for Team CIT, with Hulme teammate DDP cementing himself as the UFC middleweight champion the day after at UFC 297 when du Plessis bested Sean Strickland on points.
When asked to give some insights on what kind of Dricus du Plessis we’re going to see in this upcoming Khamzat Chimaev fight, considering the direct anecdotal connectivity to the defending UFC middleweight champion he has, Hulme said,
“I will tell you, that you guys can expect fireworks. I believe you will see a DDP 2.0. He’s definitely putting in the work this side. He is doing everything a lot more scientific and time will tell, brother. But I can tell you personally, I believe we’re going to bring that belt back to South Africa.”