UFC Middleweight Competent Khamzat Chimaev was aimed at the team of Dricus Du Plessis prior to UFC 319.
UFC Middleweight Champion Dric Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev are not fans of each other prior to their upcoming booking on UFC 319. The two middle weights are known for pre-Fight chatter with their opponents, making the structure to UFC 319 particularly multiple.
Du Plessis has already prepared for Chimaev to skip their upcoming fighting date, because Chimaev has a history of moving out fighting due to various health problems. If Du Plessis or Chimaev are forced to withdraw from UFC 319, Nassourdine Imavov awaits the wings as the backup hunter of the main event.
In the meantime, the bad blood between Du Plessis and Chimaev is on the way to a boiling point for their upcoming fight.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Khamzat Chimaev mocked the coaches of Dricus du Plessis prior to UFC 319 Showdown
Chimaev is no stranger to estimate with his opponents in advance. Prior to the recent victories over Kevin Holland, Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker, Chimaev proven different routes to try to get into the head of his rival.
Du Plessis is today one of the best hunters at Mental Warfare in MMA, as evidenced by recent heated structure with people such as Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. Du Plessis's Jabs at Strickland's horrible youth resulted in the mostly Brah-Fan favorite that shouted in tears on a podcast.
It goes quickly between Du Plessis and Chimaev, and the undefeated competition threw a subtle puncture at the coaches of Du Plessis for UFC 319.
In a recent message on X, Chimaev shared a photo of Du Plessis with his coaches after his victory over UFC 297, together with various 'donut' emojis aimed at mocking the tough size of his cooking mines.
@Dricusduplessis 🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🤣 pic.twitter.com/nm1zysi1lz
– Khamzat Chimaev (@kchimaev) May 20, 2025
At the moment, Du Plessis has not responded to Chimaev, but it will probably not be long before he does that. Du Plessis has not fought anymore since the beating of Strickland due to a unanimous decision in their UFC 312 Rematch.
UFC legend predicts that Khamzat Chimaev will have trouble struggling with DDP
In a recent upload to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen predicted Chimaev's attempts to bring down the champion du Plessis, it will turn out to be more difficult than he expected. So far, Chimaev has easily removed all his opponents in his career, also in his most recent victory over Whittaker.
But Du Plessis has shown Elite Struggling during his middleweight title line, as evidenced by recent victories over Strickland and Adesanya. His unique striking, combined with his grim wrestling, makes him a matchup nightmare in the middleweight division of the UFC.
Or Du Plessis or Chimaev will suffer their first UFC defeat on UFC 319 later this year. Only a few months away from Fight Night, the tensions rise between the two top middle weights.