Dricus Du Plessis on Being the Underdog Against Khamzat Chimaev: ‘I Don’t Care’
Dricus du Plessis doesn’t care about what the oddsmakers have to say.
Throughout his UFC career, ‘DDP’ has continued to defy the odds, building an unblemished 9-0 record inside the Octagon and capturing the promotion’s undisputed middleweight championship. Now, the South African sensation will put his gold on the line once again when he meets undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev this Saturday, August 16, at UFC 319 in Chicago, Illinois.
‘Stillknocks’ has opened as an underdog in 78% of his promotional appearances, and his clash with Chimaev will be no different. As it stands, ‘Borz’ is a 2-to-1 favorite to unseat ‘DDP’ as the middleweight king, but those odds mean absolutely nothing to du Plessis.
After all, he’s been here seven times before.
“The only thing I care about is winning this guy,” du Plessis told CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “I don’t care if it’s Khamzat. If I was a -400 favorite, it wouldn’t mean anything to me either. Odds don’t make fights, fighters do. I agree with people saying that I became everything Khamzat was gonna be, but that’s because I’m built different.”
It will be du Plessis’ third time defending the 185-pound crown following a pair of dominant performances against ex-champs Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
Meanwhile, Chimaev is coming off a teeth-shattering submission victory over Robert Whittaker in October. He goes into his first UFC title tilt with a perfect 14-0 record, with all but two of his wins coming inside the distance.
