Dricus du Plessis suggests Khamzat Chimaev may withdraw from UFC 319 title fight

The middleweight title bout headlines the UFC's return to Chicago in August.

(Paul Kane/Getty Images)

It doesn’t seem as if Dricus du Plessis is especially confident that Khamzat Chimaev will make it to fight night at UFC 319.

Undefeated since joining the UFC in 2020, du Plessis won the promotion’s middleweight title via split decision against Sean Strickland at UFC 297 after earning a title shot with three-straight finishes.

The South African successfully defended his belt against two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya last August before he also bested Strickland in their rematch in February, and this week Dana White announced du Plessis will meet #3-ranked middleweight contender Chimaev in the main event of UFC 319 on August 16.

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Dricus Du Plessis (blue gloves) celebrates defeating Sean Strickland (red glove) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Du Plessis Suggests Chimaev May Withdraw From Title Fight

Many fans assumed du Plessis vs. Chimaev was the UFC’s ideal middleweight title fight even before White’s announcement, but “Stillknocks” implied that his opponent might not make it to Chicago, IL on August 16 in his recent Instagram story.

Du Plessis' recent Instagram story. / (Instagram)

Currently the UFC’s #1-ranked middleweight contender, Imavov has won four-straight fights and most recently knocked out Adesanya in a UFC Fight Night main event in February to throw himself into title contention and earn his current role as backup fighter for the UFC 319 main event.

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Chimaev Set For Long-Awaited Title Shot

While Imavov has certainly done enough to earn a crack at the middleweight title, most fans are eager to see Chimaev and du Plessis finally settle things after the pair have regularly traded words online since the start of the South African’s UFC title reign.

Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Kevin Holland (blue gloves) during UFC 279 at T-Mobile Arena. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

After storming into the UFC in 2020 with three stoppage-wins in just over two months, Chimaev has successfully extended his undefeated MMA record to 14-0 but only competed twice in the same calendar year in 2022.

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“Borz” is coming off a nasty first-round finish of former middleweight king Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last October, and many fans had already tabbed Chimaev as a future title contender even before he fully committed to the middleweight division after UFC 279.

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