Dricus du Plessis mocks Khamzat Chimaev after #UFC319 headliner gets backup fighter

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šŸ˜‚Dricus Du Plessis reacted on Instagram to the news that Nassourdine Imavov will be the backup fighter for #UFC319

"Guess I’m fighting Nassourdine Imavov."ā–«ļø pic.twitter.com/w85WgKRWqD

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 14, 2025


Dricus Du Plessis took a dig at Khamzat Chimaev’s history of pulling out after a backup was announced for their upcoming matchup.

Du Plessis (23-2) is scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Chimaev (14-0) in the UFC 319 main event on Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago. Nassourdine Imavov was recently announced as the back-up fighter for the middleweight title clash, which means the French striker has to make weight for an opportunity to step in if either du Plessis or Chimaev pulls out.

Reacting to the announcement, du Plessis said he’s fighting Imavov, reminding Chimaev of his history of pulling out.

ā€œGuess I’m fighting [Imavov,]ā€ du Plessis wrote on his Instagram Stories.

While Chimaev has had a lot of cancelled fights in the UFC, he wasn’t responsible for all of them. His first cancellation against Leon Edwards was due to both testing positive for Covid-19. Similarly, his opponent Paulo Costa pulled out of their matchup in 2023 due to a staph infection.

Although there are other such examples, Chimaev has also pulled out of matchups on his own accord on multiple occasions. ā€œBorzā€ backed out of two bookings against Edwards due to his lingering coronavirus recovery. He also missed weight by a whopping 7.5 pounds for a booking against Nate Diaz, leading to the reshuffling of the entire UFC 279 main card in 2022. He most recently pulled out of a booking against Robert Whittaker in June 2024 due to unexplained illness.

However, Chimaev fought Whittaker at UFC 308 later that year and looked better than ever, stopping ā€œBobby Knucklesā€ with a jaw-breaking face crank in the opening stanza. A lot of Chimaev’s backouts were driven by health issues, rumoured to be a result of overtraining. Chimaev changed camps before the Whittaker fight and claims to be at his best health now.

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According to tapalogy, Du Plessis has pulled out of 2 fights in the UFC, and had at least two more before the UFC, with 3 more of his fight cancellations "unknown".

Both guys fight around 2 fights a year and both are pullout merchants.

<kith>
 
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Imavov is the weakest contender. Jared got screwed vs him.

Caio or Jared are better
 
According to tapalogy, Du Plessis has pulled out of 2 fights in the UFC, and had at least two more before the UFC, with 3 more of his fight cancellations "unknown".

Both guys fight around 2 fights a year and both are pullout merchants.

<kith>


Lol ...

We talking about regional south African cards now?...

Khamzat pulled out with middle fingers in the air against Nate Diaz lol... A fight he was favored to win handily

If you can pull out then ... U can pull out whenever...and yes not making weight in pulling out...your a professional athlete in the premier league....MAKE THE FUCKING WEIGHT...
 

Lol ...

We talking about regional south African cards now?...

Khamzat pulled out with middle fingers in the air against Nate Diaz lol... A fight he was favored to win handily

If you can pull out then ... U can pull out whenever...and yes not making weight in pulling out...your a professional athlete in the premier league....MAKE THE FUCKING WEIGHT...
Du Plessis fans are becoming more insufferable than Pereira fans before Ank took his aura.

{<BJPeen}
 
Solid sign of Prefight aggression --

builds interest and gives fans a chuckle.
 
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Seems about right, isnt it flu season in august...
 
Khamzat misses weight DDP doesn't accept the fight and fights Imanov instead but UFC wants to keep Khamzat on the card so they find a bloated LW to step in on short notice. Seems about right. imho
My money is on they give him Jim Miller
 
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