We’re just over a month away from the Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev headliner, who went back-and-forth on social media once again. The two never fail to take a dig at each other, but this time, it was a fan of the Chechen-born star who’s waiting to see ‘Borz’ win the championship and make history. A user on X made it clear that he doesn’t want to see the champion pulling out of the fight, which is also the worst-case scenario for Dana White and Co. But du Plessis, as he usually does, shared a cheeky response, but at the expense of Chimaev.
The middleweight champion has been putting in the work in the gym, which is evident in the slew of social media posts he’s been sharing over the past few weeks. Dricus du Plessis looks jacked and ready to fight, but not only inside the Octagon. Even Khamzat Chimaev shared a recent picture of himself, and he looked pretty big, too. But coming back to du Plessis’ spat on social media with a Chimaev fan, while responding to his warning, ‘Stillknocks’ decided to take a jibe at ‘Borz’s appearance.
Dricus du Plessis shared a picture in which he mocked Khamzat Chimaev’s scar on his upper lip, while writing, “Same same just need a little more work on the beard.” The champion’s response drew yet another reaction from the fan, who claimed that the beard does not suit him, while sharing an edited ever of the picture ‘Stillknocks’ shared. “Never grow a beard, Dricus,” the fan wrote further. But it appears du Plessis has no wish to grow a beard, claiming that he’s better without it. “I won’t I’m good looking remember,” the champ added.
Same same just need a little more work on the beard pic.twitter.com/9QBnBNz2yA
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) July 16, 2025
Well, Dricus du Plessis is certainly not worried about playing the bad guy or the villain in a rivalry, as he’s done that against Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya as well. He made the former 2-time champion cry, after all. But it should not appear strange to fans that he’s got a high level of confidence in beating Khamzat Chimaev, since a fellow middleweight fighter is leaning towards the scenario that the champion retains his title.
Reinier de Ridder picks Dricus du Plessis over Khamzat Chimaev
Former ONE Championship star Reinier de Ridder is perhaps the best person around to ask who comes out on top between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. That’s because he’s trained with both middleweight stars in the past, and so he recently shared a scenario about the possible outcome of that fight. De Ridder lauded Khamzat Chimaev, but does think his takedown attempts would be effective in the early rounds, as he claims the champion is pretty good with his movement.
Khamzat Chimaev has defeated a former champion in the past, Robert Whittaker, whom he finished in the first round. But that’s not happening at UFC 319. Dricus du Plessis is going to be a tough challenge, according to Reinier de Ridder. He believes it is essential that the Chechen-born star makes quick work of his South African counterpart, or else Chimaev could find himself in trouble.
“I’d say especially in a five round fight, Khamzat is most likely going to come out guns blazing again, shoot right away, but Dricus is not that easy to take down. He moves very well, although it looks a bit funny at times. His footwork is not that bad. He gets out. He circles pretty well,” Reinier de Ridder told ‘MMA Fighting’. “I don’t see Khamzat taking him down right away, and to be honest, I don’t see Khamzat choking him out in the first round… Every round he doesn’t choke him out is going to get worse for him.”
Well, we’ll find out about the outcome when we get to the fight, as it’ll also be interesting to see if Khamzat Chimaev responds to Dricus du Plessis’ recent dig on social media. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post UFC 319: Dricus Du Plessis Mocks Khamzat Chimaev’s Lip Scar in a Dark Twist After Jacked Physique Revealed appeared first on EssentiallySports.
