Sean O'Malley saw something from Dricus du Plessis on UFC 319 that deserves praise.
There was certainly not much to be happy for Du Plessis earlier this month.
After two successful title defense of the middleweight against Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, Du Plessis was expressed explicitly by Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of the Chicago hero Pay-per-View on August 16.
But despite the South African range of little resistance when Chimaev yielded an almost record amount of control time on a one-sided 25-minute match, one of the former UFC champions of Du Plessis at least one positive that he could take the setback.
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Sean O'Malley was impressed that Dricus du Plessis 'survived' against Khamzat Chimaev
Du Plessis has been attacked by many fans, hunters and analysts since his failure not to threaten Chimaev on UFC 319.
The South African was not the first to be the victim of the smelly play of the Chechen star, and O'Malley does not think that du Pessis will be the last.
In fact, considering how Chimaev brutally submitted Robert Whittaker last year and again placed himself in dominant land positions at UFC 319, 'Suga' was impressed by Du Plessis's ability to survive five full rounds against 'Borz'.
“To be honest, I see no one lasting as long as DDP did,” said O'Malley on one night with Steiny Podcast.
“Like, DDP survived, which in itself was impressive.
“Khamzat is a finisher. He is a murderer,” O'Malley added.
UFC Legend Pitches Next fight for Dricus du Plessis
Although middleweight talk has largely focused on Chimaev's first challenger, some have discussed what should be for the reported former champion.
Dan Hardy threw Du Plessis against Anthony Hernandez before 'Fluffy' was booked in October opposite Reinier de Ridder for UFC Vancouver.
Although that new Main Event Matchup has eliminated a few prominent options, Chael Sonnen recently emphasized another – and it gets much further in the ladder.
“I love it, I love the matchup,” said Sonnen about du Plessis vs Paulo Costa on his YouTube channel. “By the way, this is Paulo Costa's callout, but I feel he has nailed it.
“Tell me a better fight – tell me a better fight for Dricus.
“In some respects that is the perfect opponent for Dricus. Dricus is the perfect opponent for Paulo Costa,” Sonen added.
The Brazilian ex-title Challenger is currently outside the top 10 at 185 pounds. Costa's UFC 318 victory over Roman Kopylov marked his first victory since 2022 and made sure that he would not fall completely out of the ranking.
He is now looking for an opportunity to significantly improve his position no. 13 and return to title conflicts in the UFC.