Dricus Du Plessis plans to make Khamzat Chimaev ‘quit’ at UFC 319: ‘Let’s go full speed’

Dricus Du Plessis is looking to make Khamzat Chimaev quit at UFC 319 to retain his middleweight title.

Du Plessis is headlining UFC 319 on Saturday in Chicago against Chimaev in a highly anticipated fight. Heading into the bout, Du Plessis is the betting underdog, as many expect Chimaev to finish him early. However, the South African has confidence he will be able to outwork Chimaev and tire him out to make him quit.

“I’m going out there to fight the way (I fight) and see what happens. He didn’t change his game plan with Robert Whittaker because it was a five-rounder,” Du Plessis said at UFC 319 media day. “That kind of already gives me the sense that he’s not gonna think about the five rounds when he should be. Five rounds is a long time, and I am not scared to get into that dark place. We’ve seen that. If we go full speed, you know, I can fight tired all day. I’ve done that many times. So, let’s go for it. Let’s go from the first bell to the last. Let’s go full speed and see who quits.”

Dricus Du Plessis has been known for his cardio and output in the later rounds, and he expects that to be the difference against Chimaev on Saturday night at UFC 319.

Dricus Du Plessis oozing with confidence ahead of UFC 319

Part of the reason why Du Plessis is so confident is due to the way he fights.

The middleweight champion believes he has all the tools to get his hand raised, but he isn’t going to change the way he fights at all.

“I’m not going out there to fight his fight,” Du Plessis said. “I’m going out there to do what Dricus does, and that is be a world champion.”

Du Plessis is 23-2 as a pro and coming off the win over Sean Strickland to defend his belt for the second time.