Dricus Du
Plessis was certain that he would defeat Khamzat
Chimaev until the final seconds of their
UFC 319 clash last year.
Du Plessis put his middleweight title on the line against Chimaev
in the main event at UFC 319 in August 2026. Chimaev dominantly
controlled “Stillknocks” on the ground for nearly 22 minutes out of
25 total to earn a unanimous decision victory.
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However, Du Plessis thought he was winning that fight until he
heard the final 10-second warning clap. The South African claims
that he was confident that he would either knock out Chimaev or
submit him in the final round. When Du Plessis was briefly on top
of Chimaev in the final round, he says he felt that “Borz” didn’t
want to be there. Du Plessis is still confident that he can beat
Chimaev in a potential rematch.
‘He Didn’t Want to Be There Anymore’
“He was not tougher than I expected him to be,” Du Plessis said on
“The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I was honestly
thinking I was winning that fight up until I heard that 10-second
clap, and I knew it’s over. When I went out for that last round, I
was 100% certain I was either going to sub this guy or knock him
out. When I got that takedown got on top of him, started landing,
it was just too little, too late. And I could feel he didn’t want
to be there anymore… I know I can make that man quit.”
While Chimaev (15-0) controlled Du Plessis (23-3) on the ground, he
faced some backlash for a lack of activity. Du Plessis’ coach,
Morne Visser, was even disappointed with referee Marc Goddard
for not standing the fighters back up due to inaction.