The tension surrounding the upcoming middleweight title clash has reached a boiling point, with Dricus du Plessis’ head coach delivering a scathing assessment of Khamzat Chimaev’s striking abilities.
In an outburst that has quickly gone viral across social media platforms, du Plessis’ corner Morne Visser unleashed a critique of the Chechen-born contender’s technical skills on the feet.
On a recent UFC 319 countdown episode, he said: “Khamzat doesn’t know what it is when people want to wrestle him, he’s only facing guys who are trying to get away from his wrestling.”
Visser went as far as to call Chimaev “one-dimensional,” insisting that relying solely on wrestling won’t be enough to dethrone du Plessis.”We don’t want to try and get away from his wrestling, we want to f**k him up in his game. You can’t think you’re gonna beat my guy, coming with one thing and it’s wrestling. That guy’s one-dimensional.”
The coach’s comments suggest serious concerns about Chimaev’s readiness for elite-level competition, questioning whether the rising star possesses the fundamental skills necessary to compete at professional mixed martial arts.
He continued: “Have you seen his stand up? I wouldn’t even give him a pro license for his s**t standup, he doesn’t present any problems for us, we are the problem.”
This verbal assault comes as anticipation builds for the highly anticipated showdown between du Plessis and Chimaev, scheduled to headline UFC 319 on August 16.
The South African champion will be putting his middleweight title on the line against one of the sport’s most talked-about prospects. However, recent developments have added animosity to what was already expected to be a heated encounter.
The timing of these comments is particularly intriguing, given the recent performance at UFC Vegas 109 that has injected new energy into the middleweight division’s title picture. Anthony Hernandez delivered a masterclass performance, extending his winning streak to an impressive eight consecutive victories with a dominant fourth-round submission victory over Roman Dolidze.
