MMA Expert Reveals What Dricus Du Plessis Must Do Next After UFC Title Loss

• South African MMA fighter Dricus Du Plessis lost his UFC Middleweight championship to Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday, 16 August 2025
• Du Plessis, who was defending his title for the second time this year after defeating Sean Strickland in February
• Briefly News had an exclusive interview with MMA expert Brian Darrell, who shared insights on what Du Plessis’ next move should be

South African Mixed Martial Arts fighter and former UFC Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis lost his title on Saturday, 16 August 2025, in Chicago after being defeated by Khamzat Chimaev.

Du Plessis entered the fight as the defending champion, marking his second title defence this year after defeating Sean Strickland in February to retain the belt.

The 31-year-old was dominated over five rounds and lost by unanimous decision, relinquishing his championship title and ending his unbeaten run.

Morne Visser, Du Plessis’ head coach, came out swinging, criticising Khamzat Chimaev days after UFC 319, which ended in favour of the Russian-born fighter.

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“There was a stat afterwards of Khamzat landing like 570 shots, and only 37 of them were significant. He just did enough; he obviously controlled positions very well and did enough to keep the ref from standing the fight up,” Visser told Submission Radio.

Briefly News spoke exclusively with MMA expert Brian Darrell, who advised on the best way forward for the South African fighter.

What advice does the MMA expert have for Dricus?

“Dricus needs to go back to the drawing board and work on his game. On Saturday, he was badly exposed, particularly in his grappling and wrestling.

He is a strong fighter, which is why he became champion, but his skills were not enough against Chimaev.

I also feel his team, the coaches and trainers, let him down. They knew exactly what to expect coming into the fight, including Chimaev’s takedown strategy.

What they should have done was equip Dricus with the necessary skills and train him in wrestling so he could match the Russian-born fighter.”

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Darrell added that, for now, Dricus should not fight again soon. He should instead focus on training, securing a proper wrestling coach, and addressing his weaknesses before considering a rematch. Otherwise, a rushed rematch with Chimaev could damage his reputation and career indefinitely.

What did Dricus's coach say about a rematch

Visser echoed Darell's sentiments of focusing on fixing Dricus' grey areas before considering any rematch;

“Instead of spending time preparing for going to another fight camp to prepare for RDR, I would rather spend that time to fix the problem that we’ve got, and then go into a camp. So, I won’t just take a fight because fights are available. I want to fix this problem, because we’re going to face Khamzat [again] and I want to destroy him this time.”

Dricus speaks out after defeat

Briefly News previously reported South African UFC Middleweight fighter Dricus du Plessis has reacted to his bruising defeat at the hands of the UAE’s Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago.

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Du Plessis’ coach slams Chimaev’s UFC 319 performance as ‘boring’

“Stillknocks,” who came into this fight as the underdog, put on a brave face despite the one-sided fight and vowed to bounce back.

Source: Briefly News