The Russian dominated the South African, pinning him to the ground for the bulk of the five rounds.
South Africa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis had no answers for undefeated Russian Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling as he succumbed to a unanimous decision defeat at UFC 319 in Chicago on Sunday.
The Russian found the going very easy as he took the South African down to the canvass at will and dominated for most of the 25 minutes.
Du Plessis failed to use his striking as Chimaev tired him out, covering Du Plessis like a blanket.
“He was just like a blanket. It wasn’t a matter of strength, it wasn’t that physical, it was just as if he knew what your next move was going to be,” Du Plessis said in his octagon interview after the fight.
“He got it without using too much power and I had to decide if I’m going to be on my back or have him on my back.
“At the end, I went for it, had the back, I could almost taste that victory, but … you know, big ups to Khamzat. He deserves this one 100%.”
Well beaten
Du Plessis, 31, won the belt in early 2024 with a decision against American Sean Strickland, before retaining it with a submission of ex-champion Israel Adesanya of Nigeria and another points victory over Strickland.
The South African had never been beaten in the UFC until now.
Meanwhile, Chimaev added to his wins over former champions Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman.
Chimaev dominated the judges scorecards (50-44, 50-44, 50-44) after keeping Du Plessis pinned to the ground for most of the five five-minute rounds. The South African had no answer to counter the Russian.
Before almost every round, Du Plessis told his corner team, “I feel great,” and he even told them before the final round: “I’ve got this.”
But it was not to be in the end.
It took seven seconds for Chimaev to get Du Plessis to the ground. He landed 12-of-17 takedown attempts and had 21 minutes 40 seconds of ground control time in a 25-minute fight.
Du Plessis had previously spent 4:56 of time in bottom position in his five-year UFC career, then spent 4:46 there in the first round on Sunday.
Chimaev outlanded Du Plessis 529-45 in the striking department although most of the strikes weren’t damaging, but the sheer volume ultimately showing how one-sided this fight was.
The best part of the fight for Du Plessis was the end of the fight where he found his legs and made for an interesting final two minutes.
The United Centre crowd didn’t love the one-sided, wrestling-heavy show, loudly booing Chimaev in his victory interview. It didn’t seem to bother him much.
Whether the outgoing champion gets an immediate rematch will remain to be seen.
This story has been updated.
