Reinier de Ridder believes Dricus du Plessis could finish Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319

By Harry Kettle - May 21, 2025

UFC star Reinier de Ridder believes Dricus du Plessis is more than capable of finishing Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.

Dricus du Plessis, Khamzat Chimaev, UFC 319, MMA, Nassourdine Imavov

As we know, Dricus du Plessis has been one of the big surprise packages in mixed martial arts over the last few years. He entered the UFC with one goal: capture the UFC middleweight championship. He managed to achieve that dream and since then, he’s been able to successfully defend the strap against Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. So far, so good for the South African sensation.

RELATED: Khamzat Chimaev takes a shot at Dricus du Plessis’ coaches ahead of UFC 319

At UFC 319, however, he faces arguably his toughest test to date. He will lock horns with Khamzat Chimaev in a fight that has been a long time coming. There are so many different ways that a contest like this one can go and while many have already counted du Plessis out, that kind of underdog spirit is what got him to the dance in the first place.

Reinier de Ridder, who will be hoping to lock down a title opportunity of his own when he faces Robert Whittaker this summer, had some thoughts on the matchup in a recent interview.

de Ridder’s prediction for du Plessis vs Chimaev

“I think Dricus will win, yeah,” De Ridder told MMA Junkie. “I don’t think Khamzat is going to get him out of there early, and Dricus is a motherf*cker. He keeps going, and he gets better every round. I see Dricus like finishing him in the late rounds. Like fourth round, fifth round maybe with a lot of volume. I see Khamzat maybe taking him down in the first, second round, getting to his back maybe. I don’t know, I think Dricus has a good shot.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Do you agree with this? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Dricus du Plessis Khamzat Chimaev Reinier de Ridder UFC