Khamzat Chimaev feels he may have misjudged how strong Dricus du Plessis was going to be in their lopsided UFC title fight.
Back in Aug. 2025, Chimaev challenged du Plessis for the UFC Middleweight Championship. While some felt du Plessis had a chance to make things interesting, he was outclassed in the grappling department. Chimaev scored 12 takedowns on 17 attempts. He also had 21 minutes and 40 seconds of total control time.
Chimaev was awarded the obvious unanimous decision and the 185-pound gold. During the UFC 328 countdown show, “Borz” admitted that he expected more from “DDP” (via MMAJunkie).
“I thought Dricus was going to be stronger, but he wasn’t,” Chimaev said. “I took him down, smashed him on the ground, do the same thing again and again. He was just surviving there. After a couple rounds, I watched his face. He didn’t want to come out again. Nothing surprised (me). I knew I was the better fighter. Felt amazing to finally have my belt on me. My country needs the champ. I’m a world champ now.”
“Stillknocks” hasn’t competed since suffering the loss to Chimaev. He recently got called out by Caio Borralho, who traveled to South Africa in hopes of finding the former UFC Middleweight Championship. Borralho was invited to a sparring match with du Plessis, but the Brazilian contender wants a showdown under the bright lights.
Chimaev is scheduled to put the UFC Middleweight Championship at stake on Saturday. Sean Strickland will be challenging Chimaev for the hardware in the UFC 328 main event. The Prudential Center in Newark will play host to this weekend’s Paramount+ special. Strickland earned his opportunity at the middleweight title after stopping Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston back in February.
Can Khamzat Chimaev repeat his dominance at UFC 328, or will Sean Strickland find more success than Dricus du Plessis did? Join in on the conversation in the comments below.