Khamzat Chimaev towered over Dricus Du Plessis as the pair came head to head for the first time ahead of their world title fight on Saturday.
The gigantic Swede once fought at welterweight, but he seemed many weight classes above career middleweight Du Plessis as they met in Chicago ahead of UFC 319. Chimaev is the favorite to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable South African, who hasn’t lost yet under the UFC banner.
And fans certainly noticed the massive difference in size between the two as they shared a friendly meeting in the Windy City. They will face-off officially for the first time on Thursday at a pre-fight press conference before one final staredown at ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday.
Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev’s first meeting gets fans talking
Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev had their first run-in of fight week for UFC 319, and appeared to be quite friendly all things considered. The South African is known for trolling his rivals and getting in their heads, but opted to stay friendly in video captured by Alan Do Nascimento.
Fans were quick to notice the seemingly gigantic size disparity, which belies the fact that Chimaev is the former welterweight. “WT- is Chimaev that big or was it just the angle?” One fan asked. “Khamzat is massive,” another wrote.
Indeed, Du Plessis did look much smaller as he reached for a shoulder grab to size up his rival. But some theorized it was a combination of the angle and Chimaev wearing shoes with heightened soles. Their officially recorded heights are just one inch apart at 6’1 and 6’2 respectively.
Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev are both cutting weight for UFC 319
Both men are going to have to cut considerable amounts of weight in order to make it to the 185lb championship limit for Friday’s weigh-in. Du Plessis has declared that his cut can be as much as 45lb, and that he still had quite a bit to lose by last week.
“I’m still quite a fair bit away from 185lb,” Du Plessis admitted in an interview with the Chicago Sports Network. “But I do walk around at around 225lb to 230lb. That’s my walk-around weight out of camp, of course.
Meanwhile, Chimaev has reportedly ballooned to as high as 235lb outside of camp. Somehow, he used to make the 171lb welterweight limit, but he was forced to move up after regular misses and issues with the cut.
