Before Chicago’s streets were covered in red on August 16, the UFC United Center took over the city by hosting the pre-fight press conference. Fans arrived hours early, making sure the Chicago stop didn’t go unnoticed. The press conference ran for over 30 minutes, giving fans exactly what they came for: a glimpse of two of the middleweight division’s most notorious ‘merc with the mouth’ fighters, undefeated Khamzat Chimaev and middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis, both known for their ability to get under opponents’ skin.
Dricus Du Plessis, in particular, has a reputation for reopening old wounds from the careers of his past opponents, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, unsettling them and even causing mental breakdowns. Fans were expecting Du Plessis to bring the same level of trash talk at UFC 319, but he held back entirely. When a reporter asked Du Plessis, “Before your last two fights with Sean Strickland and then Adesanya, there was a lot of trash talking. How is your relationship with Chimaev?”
Du Plessis showed respect for the unbeaten Chechen wolf despite meeting him for the first time this week, saying, “Well, I have to say this is the first time officially meeting him this week, so I can’t say we have much of a relationship. I don’t know the man. It seems pretty respectful up until now. I guess that’s why there’s no trash talk. So, we don’t need to make trash talk. But if there needs to be a charge, let’s do it. I don’t mind.“
LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 9: Khamzat Chimaev L speaks to Joe Rogan R during the ceremonial weigh-ins on September 9, 2022, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire MMA: SEP 09 UFC 279 Icon220909510279
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