At UFC 319, Dricus du Plessis suffered his first defeat inside the Octagon.
While the former UFC middleweight champion has bounced back from losses earlier in his career, the way that his third title defense played out was the more alarming aspect.
Daniel Cormier admitted that he was disappointed in du Plessis as he questioned the South African’s preparations for August 16.
Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling was completely dominant this past weekend and that’s going to be a concern for the other contenders in the division.
With speculation regarding what could be next for du Plessis, a UFC legend made it clear to completely write off one option.
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLCQuinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson says Dricus du Plessis should think about moving weight classes after UFC 319
Had Dricus du Plessis lost his middleweight title in a close fight, there could be an argument for him being deserving of a rematch.
This wasn’t at all the case at UFC 319, with Dana White believing that the scorecards should have been even more one-sided in favor of Khamzat Chimaev if anything.
Du Plessis might even struggle to earn a rematch with Chimaev later down the line even if he’s able to go away and get back into the win column.
During the Jaxxon Podcast’s UFC 319 recap, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson went as far as to suggest that the former middleweight champion should think about moving divisions.
Jackson said that a rematch shouldn’t even be a thought for ‘Stillknocks’ at this moment in time, and while he suggested a move down, du Plessis has spoken about wanting to fight at light heavyweight in the past.
“He just got destroyed. DDP shouldn’t even say the word ‘Re’ or ‘Match’ in the same f—— sentence in an interview, with all due respect. DDP needs to probably go to a different weight class. He probably should drop down in weight, he’s stuck.”
Dricus du Plessis’ next opponent will likely be decided by the outcome of two upcoming fights
It seems highly unlikely that Dricus du Plessis will be moving weight classes at this moment in time, which then opens up the question of who he could face in his return to the Octagon.
Paulo Costa could be an outside choice but it would make sense for him to face one of the four men that are currently booked in matchups that will decide who Khamzat Chimaev’s first challenger will be.
Du Plessis could face any of Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho, Reinier de Ridder or Anthony Hernandez in his comeback fight.
Perhaps, after the two winners of these upcoming fights emerge, one of them will go on to face Chimaev while the other will welcome the former champion back.