Dricus du Plessis has finally shared his first update with fans after losing his middleweight to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.
“Stillknocks” defended the middleweight title on two occasions after winning it in early 2024 but found himself lined as a pre-fight underdog at UFC 319, where Chimaev put on a dominant display of wrestling to extend his undefeated record and claim the middleweight belt.
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.
The South African understandably took a bit of time to process the loss at UFC 319 before sharing an update on Instagram, where du Plessis celebrated Chimaev’s performance while also promising that the loss had lit a fire under him.
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He’s 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.
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
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 in a rematch with Roberto Soldić, he won back-to-back fights to earn a call from the UFC and knocked out Markus Perez in his promotional debut.
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.
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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, and the UFC also just recently announced another huge middleweight tilt between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez.
Dricus Du Plessis Murphy (red gloves) fights Khamzat Chimaev (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Although he’s been largely dominant throughout his UFC run, some fans have expressed concern about how active Chimaev may be as middleweight champion. “Borz” famously joined the promotion with two wins in less than two weeks in 2020, but the 31-year-old hasn’t competed twice in the same year since he beat Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland in 2022.
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