Dricus Du Plessis is holding out hope for a chance to face Khamzat Chimaev again in April, following their title fight last year.
The two met for the middleweight belt in August, with Chimaev putting on a dominant five-round performance to take the title from the South African fighter.
Since then, both fighters have been quiet on the fight scene. ‘Borz’ is yet to defend his belt, while Du Plessis has been working his way back into contention.
While it is likely that ‘Stillknocks’ will need at least one win before getting another shot at the title, he remains determined to regain the 185lb championship.
Dricus Du Plessis focused on forcing Khamzat Chimaev into his style in potential rematch
Right now, it appears Chimaev’s next bout will likely be against Nassourdine Imavov, who sits second in the division rankings.
Even so, Du Plessis is not giving up on a quicker return to title contention. He is still pushing for a rematch with Chimaev as early as April.
Their first meeting was one-sided, with ‘Borz’ using his wrestling to take control from the start. While Du Plessis was not pleased with how things went, he was fully aware of what the Chechen star brings into the octagon.
The 32-year-old South African said to Fight Forecast: “Fighting Khamzat again is of course what I’m after, am I expecting any surprises, no.
“There’s not going to be any surprises, that’s the way he’s gonna fight and if he tries anything different it will be a terrible night (for him). He did what he had to do to win the belt, and we can’t hate on him for that.”
Despite concerns raised about his wrestling and grappling defence during his bout with Chimaev, Du Plessis intends to force ‘Borz’ to engage on his terms in a potential rematch.
He said: “Now it’s my responsibility to go and fix that, to stop him from doing that again and getting him to fight my fight.”
Dricus Du Plessis understands the importance of his next fight
Du Plessis suffered the first loss of his UFC career in his last outing, so he knows that he cannot afford another slip-up.
He is currently aiming to make a comeback in April, and if he were to lose again, it would be a long road back to title contention for him.
“We need to fix some things, obviously, and I spend time now doing that. But like I said, I’ll be ready for April. I would love to be on that April card, the Miami card, there’s no opponent yet but I’m ready to go again and get my belt back.
“I’d of course love it to be Khamzat and redeem that loss but for me right now, the next fight is the most important fight of my life,” Du Plessis concluded.
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