Daniel Cormier details Dricus du Plessis' one "honorable" action that impressed him ahead of UFC 319

Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier respects Dricus du Plessis for fearlessly seeking out the tough fights.

Du Plessis' middleweight title reign is turning out to be something special. Already having defended the belt against promotional elites Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, 'Stillknocks' is now set for what many consider to be his toughest test to date, a fight against divisional boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.

Chimaev is easily one of the toughest puzzles in the UFC. With his high-intensity wrestling, the Chechen-born Emirati has breezed through most opposition, amassing an undefeated record of 14-0.

While this might discourage many from taking him on, 'Stillknocks' seems to be cut from a different cloth.

MMA recently has seen a trend where champions seemingly side-step tough matchups for favorable ones, as seen in the Jon Jones-Tom Aspinall saga. Du Plessis, meanwhile, is only interested in fights that present the most danger. The South African has been intent on taking on the winner of Robert Whittaker and Chimaev ever since he submitted Adesanya at UFC 305.

During a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Cormier praised 'Stillknocks':

"I love this about du Plessis. He leaves the fight after beating Adesanya... He goes and he [says], 'I'll fight anybody.' Goes and beats Sean Strickland again because they said Sean Strickland was deserving. Right after that, he goes, 'I want Chimaev next.' Nobody was saying that!"

Cormier added:

"Everybody was saying, 'Well, he needs to win more.' Every one of the toughest guy in the division, the champ [more often] goes, 'He needs to do something else, he needs to win another fight, this doesn't work for me.' Not Dricus, Dricus looked right down the barrel of the camera and said, 'I want Chimaev.'… A champ who called out the toughest guy in the bracket... That's really honorable in today's MMA."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments on Dricus du Plessis below (7:54):

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When Dricus du Plessis envisioned the first round against Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev is one of the fastest starters in MMA, having finished five of his eight fights in the UFC in the first round. While this might prompt many to try and weather the early storm and try and take 'Borz' into the later rounds, Dricus du Plessis has no such plans.

In a 2024 interview with Submission Radio, the 31-year-old envisioned how the first round between him and Chimaev would play out, labelling it "absolute chaos":

"It's going to be absolute chaos. I don't see him coming in with a different game plan, but me neither. I'm going out there to attack. I'm going there to kill him. I'm not going out there to defend Khamzat's takedowns. I'm not going there to defend, I'm going out there to attack."