Dricus du Plessis recently took aim at fellow UFC middleweights Khamzat Chimaev and Sharabudtin Magomedov. Specifically, he mocked them for their physical disfigurements, with Chimaev having a deep scar on his lip, while Magomedov's right eye is blind.
In his tweet, the middleweight champion claimed that between the two Russian fighters, they only three senses: sight, smell, and touch. This drew an aggressive response from a fan whose account is based around their fandom of Russian MMA.
"Also 3 coaches but no mouth kisses, spanking or tasing"
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The fan's comment is in reference to du Plessis' personal dynamic with his head coach, Morne Visser. The pair are known for kissing each other on the lips, which is an uncommon practice between fighters and their coaches, as is Visser's habit of tasing his fighters' feet to punish them for committing mistakes while training.
Naturally, the South African star had a response of his own, highlighting his confidence in successfully defending his middleweight title against the unbeaten Chimaev.
"Wrong! I'll definitely be spanking your boy Khamzat"
Du Plessis and 'Borz' have been linked to each other for some time now. Chimaev has long been regarded as a future UFC champion, with initial predictions focusing on his prior run at welterweight. Although he was moonlighting as a middleweight, he finally made a permanent move to 185 pounds in 2023.
He has since defeated two ex-UFC champions in welterweight great Kamaru Usman and ex-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, creating intrigue in a bout with du Plessis. In response, the South African showed interest in facing him, even prior to his recent, successful, title defense against Sean Strickland.
Dricus du Plessis is undefeated in the UFC
While Khamzat Chimaev has been spotless throughout his MMA career, Dricus du Plessis is currently undefeated in the UFC. Moreover, the South African star is undefeated against consistently higher-level opponents than the ones Chimaev has faced.
The middleweight champion has wins over Sean Strickland (2x), Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, Darren Till, Brad Tavares, Trevin Giles, and Markus Perez. Three of those opponents are former champions, one was a former title challenger, and the other a former top 185-pounder.