Dricus du Plessis | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Dricus du Plessis defends his UFC title for the third straight time soon when he faces Khamzat Chimaev, and if he overcomes that test, there could be bigger things ahead for him.

Podcaster and former fighter Brendan Schaub opined on the Aug. 16 UFC 319 main event on a recent episode of the JAXXON podcast, stating his case for why du Plessis could possibly become a three-division champion. Current lightweight titleholder Ilia Topuria became a “champ-champ” after abdicating the featherweight throne and then knocking out Charles Oliveira to win a vacant 155-pound belt, which was made vacant when Islam Makhachev moved up to 170 pounds for a future fight with Jack Della Maddalena.

Schaub thinks du Plessis could not only move up to 205 pounds for a second belt, but that he should consider jumping to heavyweight after that to make UFC history.

“I think for Islam it made sense,” Schaub said. “For Topuria, I still [think] he had some work to do, but for Makhachev it made sense to jump up to ‘70. He can definitely capture ‘55, ‘70. ‘85’s a different animal because you have guys like DDP and Khamzat.

“I think whoever wins out of Khamzat and DDP, whoever wins that can go for three belts. DDP’s bigger than Khamzat, so light heavyweight, he’s probably a light heavyweight naturally. So it makes sense for DDP to go to light heavyweight. Heavyweight’s not as far a stretch for him. DDP’s a big boy.”

Du Plessis knows what it’s like to hold titles in two divisions. Prior to signing with UFC, du Plessis won middleweight and welterweight titles in KSW, though he has since said he would never try to cut down to 170 pounds again. Should he defeat Chimaev, it’s not out of the question that du Plessis attempts to conquer two more weight classes, especially considering heavyweight and light heavyweight are currently in a down period.

But a win at UFC 319 is no guarantee. Schaub argued that anyone assuming a Chimaev win has to happen early and a du Plessis win has to come late could be mistaken.

“First thing I said to the boys when we were watching Khamzat train, because when I do a breakdown of fights, I’m like, ‘How’s his cardio?’” Schaub said. “They’re like, ‘Buddy, not an issue. At all.’ Because my biggest thing for him going into the DDP fight, DDP’s a big dude, durable, so how’s Khamzat going to be in the fourth and fifth round. They’re like, ‘Trust me, not an issue.’”

“DDP is huge and he’s durable and unorthodox,” Schaub added. “So the oddsmakers are going to say if it ends before two rounds, it’s Khamzat all day. I would extend that after seeing this to even the first three rounds. Four and five is what I want to see. I want to see Khamzat in the fourth and fifth, and if Khamzat’s lighting his ass up – because DDP’s going to be tough to finish – so if Khamzat’s in the fourth and fifth and finishes him, then you’ve got one. We’ve got a real one.”

TOP STORIES

Yikes. Matt Brown didn’t mince words when criticizing Renato Moicano’s decision not to accept a UFC lawsuit settlement.

Confidence. Tatsuro Taira handily defeated Hyun Sung Park in the UFC Vegas 108 main event—and he thinks he can do the same to flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

Enough. Dan Hooker is fed up and wants to fight Arman Tsarukyan.

Oops. An amateur fighter tried to point down like Max Holloway. It didn’t go well.

Face-plant. There was some serious silliness going down on the regional scene this weekend.

Out. Max Holloway has an injury that will keep him sidelined until 2026.

VIDEO STEW

UFC Vegas 108 post-fight show.

MMA Fighting chats with Amanda Nunes and Mark Coleman.

Wonderboy combos.

The legends face off, at last.

UFC 319, less than two weeks way.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee lay out what’s best for the brilliantly talented Tatsuro Taira, plus matchup picks for the main card winners of UFC Vegas 108.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

I don’t know.

I DON’T KNOW

Taira taking over in 2026?

No stress.

Make it happen (the fight, I mean, not the haircut).

OK!

“For me, the action is the juice. I’m in.”

I know this now and you should, too.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Hope you’re all loving the UFC APEX, because we’ve got back-to-back events at the world’s most violent warehouse with UFC Vegas 109 just around the corner. Credit to all the fighters who still find a way to make memorable moments in there, but how much better would some of Saturday’s slobberknockers been in front of an actual crowd?

Keep Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter in there, maybe share space with some regional promotions in exchange for content (got that new TV/streaming deal coming up!) and talent deals, and reduce the amount of UFC Vegas events as much as possible.

We can fix this!

EXIT POLL

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