Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Ex-UFC fighter drops wild claim about Dricus du Plessis' future after Khamzat fight

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 12:28 PM ET

Ex-UFC fighter Brendan Schaub raised a few eyebrows with a recent claim about reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis.

Undefeated since joining the UFC in 2020, du Plessis is scheduled to try and defend his middleweight belt for the third time against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Schaub says that a double-champ bid isn’t out of the question for the South African, and he even went so far as to say that “Stillknocks” could also challenge for the UFC heavyweight title at some point.

The list of fighters that have competed in three different weight classes in the UFC is already a short one, and Ilia Topuria recently joined the exclusive club of double champions when he knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight belt at UFC 317.

Brendan Schaub Proposes Triple-Champ Bid For Dricus Du Plessis

Speaking on the JAXXON PODCAST, former UFC heavyweight Schaub spoke about the upcoming UFC 319 main event and what the future could hold for either Chimaev or du Plessis.

“I think whoever wins out of Khamzat and DDP, whoever wins that can go for three belts," Schaub said (h/t MiddleEasy). "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.”

(Zuffa LLC)

Lighter UFC weight classes are divided up by 10 lbs. up until welterweight, which is 15 lbs. heavier than the lightweight division. There’s also a 15-pound gap between welterweight and middleweight before the 20-pound jump to light heavyweight, and the heavyweight division allows everything above the light heavyweight limit up to 265 lbs. for title bouts.

Dricus Du Plessis & Khamzat Chimaev Are Both Former Welterweights

Chimaev actually competed at both middleweight and welterweight in the UFC up until his infamous weight miss at UFC 279, while du Plessis has competed exclusively at 185 lbs. since 2019.

(Zuffa LLC)

“Stillknocks” began his MMA career at 4-0 before being submitted by EFC Middleweight Champion Garreth McLellan in the latter fight’s final bout before he joined the UFC. Du Plessis went on to win the EFC welterweight title and also achieved double-champ status when he claimed the promotion's middleweight belt in 2017.

The South African split a pair of KSW welterweight title bouts with Roberto Soldić in 2018 before fully committing to middleweight. A heavyweight move might be a bit ambitious, but du Plessis did previously discuss the idea of fighting at light heavyweight while Alex Pereira was the division’s champion.