Dricus Du Plessis: Khamzat Chimaev was out of gas in Round 5 vs. me
· Yahoo Sports
Despite losing to Khamzat Chimaev in lopsided fashion, Dricus Du Plessis is confident he can win a rematch.
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Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) lost his middleweight title at UFC 319 to Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in a fight where he was taken down 12 times and controlled for over 21 minutes.
However, in Round 5, Du Plessis had an opening where he reversed Chimaev's takedown and got into mount, then took his back to work for a rear-naked choke. But with less than 30 seconds to go, Du Plessis didn't have enough time to inflict damage.
"When we went to that final round, I was honestly thinking I was winning this fight, up until I heard that 10-second clapper, and I knew it was over," Du Plessis said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "But when I went out for that last round, I was 100 percent certain that I'm either going to sub this guy or knock him out.
"When I got that takedown, I got on top, got in the choke, I started landing, but just too little, too late. I could feel he didn't want to be there anymore. I could feel it. Just the way he looked, just the way he felt. When I got on top of him, I could feel he went, 'Oh shi*t.' He was on top for the whole fight basically, but I know I could make that man quit."
Du Plessis was initially targeting a return in April, but says a minor injury set him back. He expects to have an update by next week.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dricus Du Plessis: I know I could make UFC champ Khamzat Chimaev quit