Dricus du Plessis heaps praise on "special" Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 319 showdown: "I think he's as good as people think"

Dricus du Plessis recently gave Khamzat Chimaev his flowers and lauded the Chechen-born fighter's fighting prowess. 'Stillknocks' dismissed the notion that Chimaev was overrated and called 'Borz' a "special" fighter.

Chimaev and du Plessis are set to throw down in a middleweight title fight in the main event of UFC 319 at the United Center on Aug.16 in Chicago. Ahead of their clash, du Plessis made it clear that he wasn't underestimating Chimaev and knew exactly how good the Chechen-born grappling savant was.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, du Plessis was asked whether he thought Chimaev was "overrated" as a fighter. He replied:

"No. I think Khamzat is a special fighter... The first time I saw him fight, I knew this guy was gonna be special. 100%... Listen, he speaks a lot more than he fights, I can tell you that much... He was calling out welterweights, middleweights, light heavyweights but he wasn't fighting anyone."

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He continued:

"There was never ever a stage where I went, 'Oh, this guy's overrated.' No, he is as good as people think. I think he is as good as people think, I just think I'm a lot better than people think."

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Dricus du Plessis previews Khamzat Chimaev fight while making a bold vow

Dricus du Plessis respects Khamzat Chimaev as an opponent and fighter, but he's confident that the UFC middleweight belt is going back home with him on Aug.16. In the same interview, du Plessis shared his honest thoughts on the Chimaev matchup and vowed to "break" the Chechen-born grappler.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, du Plessis vowed to "shock the world" at UFC 319 and stated:

"I have to say, Khamzat looks incredible in training... People are talking about, 'Oh, he's training with this new coach.' I'm very happy for him, he did it five weeks out from the fight. I've been doing this my whole life. I've been fighting title fights, I did it for five-six years, entered the UFC, defended my belt twice already. The hard work that he's putting in, that people are going, 'Oh, he's really training hard,' that's what I've been doing every single camp. Fight after fight after fight. That's not new to me."

He continued:

"I know he's going to come in there prepared... I can't wait. This is gonna be history. I'm going out there and I'm going to shock the world once again... You're gonna see 'The Boogeyman' break in there and then realize, there's only one 'Boogeyman,' and that's me."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.