Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Nassourdine Imavov being backup fighter at UFC 319

Dricus Du Plessis had an interesting reaction after Nassourdine Imavov was announced as the backup fighter at UFC 319.

Du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title in the main event of UFC 319 against Khamzat Chimaev. It’s a highly anticipated bout and one that has been rumored for a long time. However, ahead of the fight on August 16 in Chicago, Imavov announced he’s the backup fighter, and Du Plessis jokingly claimed he’d now be facing the Frenchman.

Dricus Du Plessis reacts to the news that Nassourdine Imavov will serve as the backup fighter for his #UFC319 headliner against Khamzat Chimaev.

“Guess I’m fighting Nassourdine Imavov.” 😅 pic.twitter.com/3BvqZ7FKkM

— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) May 14, 2025

“Guess I’m fighting Nassourdine Imavov now,” Du Plessis wrote on his Instagram story.

Du Plessis’ comment is a slight dig at Chimaev, who has had to pull out of fights or be removed from fights for different reasons. Chimaev has fought just twice since September of 2022, but has had three canceled fights in the meantime.

Although Du Plessis jokingly thinks Chimaev will pull out of their UFC 319 fight, the hope is that Chimaev won’t have to pull out and we finally get to see this fight happen.

Drius Du Plessis doesn’t consider Khamzat Chimaev a boogeyman

Dricus Du Plessis began hinting at a Khamzat Chimaev fight after he beat Sean Strickland for the second time.

However, Du Plessis claims Chiamev is not the boogeyman he once was considered.

“People think of Khamzat as this boogeyman. That’s a fact. I don’t. I don’t see that. For me, I only see one thing, and that’s the potential to do good to my legacy. The potential to make my legacy even better,” Du Plessis said to Ariel Helwani…

“He’s really hard to deal with in the beginning of the fight, but so am I. When you go that hard, and Round 2, 3, 4, 5 comes, you still have to be there, and I’ve proven that I am there in those rounds,” Du Plessis said. “So that is 100 percent a situation where I see if he can last that long. He has to realize if he wants to come out. I’m still going to be there, like I was there in the first, ready to kill. That will never change in my game.”

Dricus Du Plessis is 23-2 as a pro and a perfect 9-0 in the UFC.