Overview

• Sam Calavita overhauled Chimaev’s conditioning after the challenger showed late-fight fatigue in bouts with Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.
• Chris Weidman hails Chimaev as a ‘boogeyman’ but warns that only an early stoppage can derail du Plessis’s pace and secure the belt.
• Morne Visser dismisses Chimaev as one-dimensional for relying on wrestling and says du Plessis will meet him head-on on August 16.
• Champion Dricus du Plessis enters fight week with two successful UFC middleweight defenses over Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
• Du Plessis rejects suggestions that Chimaev was title-ready at his UFC debut and emphasizes the value of his own measured rise through the ranks.