Dricus du Plessis addresses potential light heavyweight move after UFC 319: "The division needs to be cleaned out"

Dricus du Plessis recently addressed potentially moving up to light heavyweight in the future. The reigning UFC middleweight champion made it clear that he wants to clear out the 185-pound division before moving to light heavyweight. However, he admitted that he'd like to move up to 205 pounds eventually.

'Stillknocks' is set to face Khamzat Chimaev in a highly anticipated title fight at UFC 319 on Aug.16 at the United Center in Chicago. While the South African fighter is coming off a unanimous decision win over Sean Strickland in their title rematch at UFC 312 in February, Chimaev last defeated Robert Whittaker via first-round submission at UFC 308 last October.

In an interview with Chicago Sports Network, du Plessis fielded a question about his future plans and whether he's looking to move up to light heavyweight anytime soon. He replied:

"I think that’s been the goal, the long-term goal has been to move up. I’m still young in my career, 31 years old, there’s a lot of time left. I’m a firm believer in at least three title defenses, this will be my third [UFC 319], before you move up in weight. Then, of course, the division needs to be cleaned out, in my opinion, before you move on to the next division."

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Dricus du Plessis outlines fight plan for Khamzat Chimaev clash at UFC 319

In the same interview, Dricus du Plessis outlined how he plans to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. The South African fighter broke down Chimaev's fighting style and compared it to his own.

Speaking on the Chicago Sports Network, du Plessis previewed his upcoming clash against 'Borz' and said:

"I think the one thing that you have to look at in Khamzat, having a grappling, wrestling pedigree, especially in the wrestling aspect. So, it's not pure grappling but more of a wrestling style because he's so physically dominant. And if you look at my fights, I try to do the exact same thing. It's a bully style of fighting."

He continued:

"I think that is the exact way you beat a guy like this, and that's how I'm going to beat him... That's at the end of the day, you get the guys that fight him because he has this name. He has this aura, he is unbeaten, and people fight him in a defensive way, and I don't think that's the way to fight him. I think you have to face him head-on. Go for it and give him some of his own medicine."

Catch Dricus du Plessis' comments below (1:18):

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Edited by Nishant Zende.