Reigning middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, has knocked out Robert Whittaker, submitted Israel Adesanya, and turned away Sean Strickland in back-to-back title fights. And yet “Stillknocks” opened as the betting underdog for his Khamzat Chimaev main event, recently made official for Sat., Aug 16, 2025 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
That’s according to BetOnline.ag.
Du Plessis stands at +145 on the moneyline against -170 for Chimaev. As with most early odds, you can expect these numbers to fluctuate — in both directions — as we get closer to fight night. “Borz” is no slouch himself, racking up a perfect 14-0 record with victories over Kamaru Usman and the aforementioned Whittaker, among others.
“I’ve had some experience with both of the guys, I’ve trained with both of them,” fast-rising UFC middleweight, Reinier de Ridder told MMA Fighting. “I’d say especially in a five-round fight, Khamzat is most likely going to come out guns blazing again, shoot right away but Dricus is not that easy to take down. He moves very well, although it looks a bit funny at times. His footwork is not that bad. He circles pretty well. I don’t see Khamzat taking him down right away and to be honest, I don’t see Khamzat choking him out in the first round.”
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both 31 years old.
“Every round he doesn’t choke him out is going to get worse for him, because with that unorthodox style of Dricus and those heavy hands, I think it might be a long night for Khamzat,” de Ridder continued. “He keeps going. That’s the crazy thing. He looks dead tired, the technique [just goes out the door] but somehow he stays strong, stays very explosive. I’m going with Dricus but Khamzat would be cool, too, if it gets it. But I think Dricus has a good chance. I think that would be a very cool fight to get down the line.”
Expect more UFC 319 fight card announcements in the coming weeks.
