UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis made an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast with Jim Norton and former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra. During the interview, he stated that he had never worked harder for a training camp and admitted that Khamzat Chimaev is the best fighter he has ever faced.

Speaking on the podcast, the champion said:
“I can 100% say that I’ve never put in the work that I’ve put in for this fight. Because firstly, I need to defend this belt, and secondly, I need to prove a point in this fight. And I do know that I’m fighting the best fighter that I’ve ever fought in Khamzat Chimaev.

It’s rare for a sitting champion to openly admit that a specific contender will be the toughest matchup of their career, but that speaks volumes about Dricus Du Plessis’s character. An unconventional champion in terms of style, he claimed the title after a narrow split-decision victory over then-champion Sean Strickland. Since then, Du Plessis has been on a mission to silence the doubters.

Dricus Du Plessis is on a mission

He submitted former champion and UFC Hall of Famer Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya in the fourth round to secure his first title defense. He then answered any lingering questions about Sean Strickland with a dominant unanimous decision victory in February at UFC 312 in Perth, Australia.

Khamzat Chimaev is the first undefeated contender for the middleweight title since Paulo Costa fought for the belt at UFC 253 in 2020. After a long-awaited title shot, fans and fighters alike are eager to see how Khamzat will handle the opportunity.

In the few fights where Chimaev has looked human, it’s typically been in the later rounds. When asked about his cardio earlier this week, Khamzat replied:
“I smash the gas, bro.”

If anyone can challenge the UFC’s boogeyman, it might just be Dricus Du Plessis.

Joshua Banas

Lifelong MMA fan out of southern California.