The South African middleweight champion is confident he will be able to defend his title once again.
In just under a week’s time, one of South Africa’s most loved sportsmen will finally get what he has been asking for.
In the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder Dricus du Plessis will look to successfully defend his strap for a third time at UFC319.
Standing in his way is undefeated Russian wrestling specialist Khamzat Chimaev.
This fight – already being billed as one of the biggest middleweight title fights in UFC history – will take place at the renowned Staples Centre in Chicago, the home of the Chicago Bulls basketball team.
Although born in Russia, Chimaev is currently based in the United Arab Emirates.
‘I’m better than most people think’
“I actually wanted to fight Khamzat in Abu Dhabi or somewhere like, and beating him in front of his home people, but it really doesn’t matter where the fight is,” Du Plessis said on The Ariel Helwani Show podcast over the weekend.
The bad blood between the two has been close to reaching boiling point for some time and Du Plessis is more than ready for this massive challenge despite going into this contest as the underdog.
“Khamzat is a special fighter. He speaks more than he fights, calling out fighters, but never actually fighting,” Du Plessis said.
“He is as good as people think, I am just better than what most people think.”
Du Plessis has been in Chicago for a couple weeks now and alongside his hectic training schedule, he has been enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.
From going to a Manchester United pre-season friendly to throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game at the world famous Wrigley Field, it is clear he has now become accustomed to the conditions.
“Chicago has to be one of the best cities in America I have been to so far. I am not a big city guy, even though I live in Pretoria, I love nature and the farm is 20 minutes drive from me, but I have been pleasantly surprised here,” said the South African.
When asked how he thinks this fight will pan out, Du Plessis was very blunt in his response.
“He will be coming into this fight more prepared than ever.
“But I am going out there to shock the world. You are going to see the ‘boogeyman’ break, and then you will realise there is only one ‘boogeyman’, and that is me.”
