Dricus Du Plessis admits wrong camp for Khamzat Chimaev loss

Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis says his camp built the wrong game plan ahead of his title loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.

Du Plessis, who surrendered nearly 22 minutes of control time in the August defeat, told Submission Radio his team drilled for the explosive grappling exchanges that defined Chimaev's earlier wins. Instead, the Chechen wrestler pinned him in the crucifix position round after round, landing short strikes from top and avoiding submission attempts entirely. "It's a style thing," Du Plessis said, per Sherdog. "The way he moved, it's something that I haven't seen, haven't felt, and it wasn't a strength problem at all. It was just a way that he could get it to a place where we were static. There was no scramble."

Du Plessis expected scrambles, got smothering control instead

The South African explained that Chimaev's film showed a fighter who chased finishes with relentless pace. His preparation reflected that. "That's what I was preparing for because if you look at all of his other fights, that exciting, let's go, going for a choke, he didn't go for one submission," Du Plessis said. "That was what we prepared for, and he was just like, 'Cool, let's just lie here and steal people's money.'"

Du Plessis fights former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18, looking to re-enter title contention after the lone loss on his promotional record.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Dricus Du Plessis admits he prepared for the wrong Khamzat Chimaev