Dricus Du Plessis reveals light heavyweight goal following UFC 319 with brutal weight cut ahead

Ahead of his UFC 319 middleweight title defense, Dricus Du Plessis is already considering what could come next.

On August 16 in the UFC 319 main event, Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will finally clash for the middleweight title after almost a year of them both calling for the fight.

Just over a week from their clash, Du Plessis has explained why he once again believes his ‘controversial’ fight style will pay dividends, despite admitting that Chimaev will be his toughest test to date.

However, before the South African champion can step inside the Octagon, he must complete what looks to be a brutal weight cut after admitting he still has 45lbs to cut.

Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty ImagesDu Plessis planning on moving up to light heavyweight following UFC 319Ahead of their fight in Chicago, ‘Stilknocks’ has revealed that he is still hoping to eventually move up to 205lbs in an attempt to become a double champion.

“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 three title defenses, this will be my third, before you move up in weight, then of course, the division needs to be cleaned out,” Du Plessis told Chicago Sports Network.

It seems as though Du Plessis isn’t the only one looking past UFC 319, though, as Chimaev has also revealed that he still has plans to become a triple champion, suggesting a move back down to welterweight.

‘Borz’ was fighting at 170lbs before finally making his move up to middleweight in 2023 to fight Kamaru Usman. In Chimaev’s last attempt at making 171lbs, he came in horrifically over weight at 178.5lbs, and angered fans after laughing on the scale.

Chimaev may have future fight sorted after recent online beefHowever, before Chimaev plans on moving up, he may want to settle what seems to be some new beef with former champion Sean Strickland.

Strickland and Chimaev used to train together and ahead of UFC 319, Strickland labeled Chimaev ‘weak’, touching on previous training sessions together.

Of course, the Chechen clapped back with a response, telling Strickland to meet him in Las Vegas to settle their beef.