Dricus du Plessis believes Anderson Silva is the greatest middleweight in UFC history.
However, he believes a win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 will put him within touching distance of ‘The Spider’ after just three defenses of his 185lb belt.
Anderson Silva made 10 defenses of the UFC middleweight title during his legendary reign as champion.
Dricus du Plessis accepts he may not equal that record, but believes his quality of opposition will ultimately allow him to become the middleweight GOAT with far fewer defenses.
Dricus du Plessis questions Anderson Silva’s resume
On Wednesday, Dricus du Plessis was asked to respond to recent comments from Chris Weidman.
The former UFC middleweight champion claimed a win over Khamzat Chimaev would see ‘DDP’ leapfrog him into third place on the 185lb GOAT list.
Du Plessis believes winning at UFC 319 puts him ‘very close’ to taking Anderson Silva’s top spot.
‘Yeah, in terms of the amount of title defenders, for sure,” he replied.
“I think Chris Weidman is amazing. I’m a massive, massive fan. But when you look at the amount of defenses and you look at a guy like Anderson Silva, for example. I think Anderson Silva is the GOAT because he’s always been a hero of mine.
“You have to look also in terms of era of title defenses. Who these guys fought? Did they fight a guy with a part-time job? Did they fight full-time fighters? Was the sport ever as developed as it is right now?’
“I can’t take away from any of those guys. I’m just saying, in today’s age of fighting, that amount of defenses is not always possible.
“Right now, I still have a long way to go before I’m considered the greatest of all time or even the greatest middleweight of all time. After this fight, I’m right up there. I’m getting very close to that.”
Dricus du Plessis shuts down size difference concerns
Earlier this week, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev met for the first time ahead of UFC 319.
Viral footage of their brief conversation led to fans pointing out an apparent size difference in favor of the 14-0 Russian phenom.
Du Plessis addressed size difference concerns after his meeting with Chimaev left some fans worried.
“I mean, maybe it was the angle,” he said.
“I haven’t seen the video, but I can promise you — you’ll see, you’ll see.
“I stood in front of him. He is definitely not taller than me,” Du Plessis continued. “Maybe a little; maybe like, half an inch. Yeah, you’ll see.
“And the other thing, I don’t give a s— how big he is. That’s not what wins fights. But yeah, I saw him, he is definitely not bigger than me.”
