Victory against Chimaev is no different to any of my preceding victories, says Du Plessis

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, emphasised that beating the number three-ranked middleweight fighter Khamzat Chimaev will carry the same weight as beating any of his opponents in the UFC thus far, despite Chimaev being highly rated.

Du Plessis will face Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago in the early hours on Sunday morning (South African time), a fighter that many consider to be "The boogeyman" of the UFC.

Because of the dominant nature of the majority of Chimaev's victories in the UFC, coupled with his unbeaten record in his career, many fighters fear him, making him one of the highly rated fighters that the South African has faced in his career.

However, despite all the aforementioned reasons, Du Plessis made it clear that beating Chimaev does not carry any more weight than beating Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland or any of his opponents in the UFC.

The trash talk king added that Chimaev has been respectful to him, a feat that contributed in the lack of trash talk or banter in the pre-fight press conference on Friday.

"This will mean for me exactly what it meant to beat every other guy before this. It's not about the opponent, it's not about who I face, it's about defending this belt every time somebody steps up to try and take it from me. That's all that matters to me," said Du Plessis.

"This is the first time meeting him this week. I don't know the man. He seems respectful up until now, that's why there's no trash talk."

It is safe to say that the people of Chicago, at least those who were present in the press conference on Friday, were heavily in favour of Chimaev.

As a result, the people of Chicago were not shy in letting Du Plessis know of their dislike of him as they booed him from the start to the finish of the press conference.

However, Du Plessis seemed unfazed as he told the media that he had gotten used to the negative response in Chicago, as he had never been the favourite to win any of his main event fights in the UFC.

The 31-year-old South African fighter added that the fact that Chimaev is motivated by money instead of legacy and the ambition of being champion might be his downfall.

"I've walked into every fight, especially as a main event, and heard the exact (same response from the) crowd, but guess what, I've walked out with the belt every single time," said Du Plessis.

"We all have our different motivations. The motivations differ, the outcome will be the same, I'm walking out the champion. He's getting his money whether he wins or loses, so for him (regardless of the outcome), it's a good day at the office for him. I'll only be satisfied when I walk out of there with my belt."