The UFC’s middleweight title picture was left in limbo at UFC 319. Dricus du Plessis lost his belt to Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round fight he’s now labeling “terrible” in his interview with Fight Forecast, one that both failed to deliver drama and left the South African looking for payback, starting with a push for a UFC 327 do-over.
Chimaev’s approach in Chicago was straightforward and stifling. From the start, he imposed his wrestling. By round one, du Plessis spent most of his time trying to peel Chimaev off his back. Each round looked a lot like the last: Chimaev pinning, grinding, cruising, with du Plessis unable to open up. The judges all scored it 50–44. There was no real suspense, just control, and when the horn sounded, Chimaev became king of the division, barely breaking a sweat.
Fans expecting a war instead watched Chimaev smother the action. That didn’t sit well with du Plessis. “The fight, if you look at it… was terrible,” he later said. “Chimaev fought not to lose.” It was clinical, he admitted, just not what a main event or a championship scrap should look like. While some would stew on a loss like that, du Plessis has flipped it into fuel. He wants a chance to make it right, preferably in Miami.
WATCH:
April 11, 2026. That’s when UFC 327 is set to land in Florida. There’s no main event yet, but du Plessis keeps hammering the point: make it him and Chimaev. “I would love to be on that April card, the Miami card… I’d of course love it to be Khamzat and redeem that loss, but for me right now, the next fight is the most important fight of my life.”
Du Plessis says he’s gone back to school. This camp, he and his team are building defenses, game planning for the relentless top pressure that shut him down last summer. That means switching up practices, bringing in new training bodies, and spending tireless hours on the mat. Du Plessis insists the lesson wasn’t lost: “If he tries anything different, it will be a terrible night (for him).”
One question: Will Chimaev still have the belt in April? After grabbing the title, Chimaev started flirting with light heavyweight and name-dropping Alex Pereira. Some think he’s done at 185, at least for now. Miami’s card already has serious firepower; bouts like Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker and Paulo Costa vs. Azamat Murzakanov are locked. But the top spot? Still empty, waiting for a headliner.
What’s clear is that du Plessis wants another crack at Chimaev, and he isn’t shy about saying the rivalry needs closure. “The fans want answers, and so do I,” he put it bluntly. “The UFC knows what makes sense for the division and the sport.”
This is a rivalry that’s been simmering a while. Du Plessis has never backed off from calling Chimaev “a waste of potential” and promised to deliver real violence inside the cage. His coach even upped the temperature before UFC 319, vowing to see Chimaev “in pieces on the floor.” Chimaev has stayed mostly quiet but doesn’t hide his ambitions; collecting belts and making history in more than one division.
UFC 319 had controversy beyond the action, and it wasn’t just the pace. Referee Marc Goddard caught heat for early standups, with some fans saying they kept Chimaev from doing even more damage. Others argued they saved the night from stalling completely. Either way, nobody’s pretending du Plessis threatened Chimaev’s rule. The result was never really in doubt.
So the Miami storyline is simple. If the UFC locks in du Plessis vs. Chimaev 2 and both men are healthy, the sport gets either a redemption story or an all-time cementing of Chimaev’s dominance. But until the champ’s next move becomes official, everything remains up in the air. Chimaev’s light heavyweight dreams versus du Plessis’s shot at revenge. The answers are coming, likely soon.
Du Plessis summed it up, as only a fighter on a mission can: “The next fight is the most important fight of my life.” The only question left: Will it be the one that finally settles the score?
