Whenever there’s a fight announced, the possibility of it falling off is always present. Dana White recently announced some blockbuster fights, including the UFC 319 headliner between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title. Within 24 hours of that announcement, a report has come in suggesting that the UFC CEO has picked his backup fighter for the main event as well.

The decision for a backup fighter seems more than important for a fight involving Khamzat Chimaev. The Chechen-born star has had a troubled past with his health, leading him to delay and even pull out of his fights. In 2020, Chimaev contracted COVID-19, which led to the UFC cancelling his planned fight against Leon Edwards on three occasions. His health worsened because of it when the UFC wanted to pair him up with Li Jingliang for the aforementioned health issue.

The most concerning health struggle happened in 2024, when Khamzat Chimaev was deemed violently ill ahead of his initially scheduled date for the fight against Robert Whittaker. “Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight next weekend in Saudi Arabia. Violently, and I mean violently ill. So, he’s going back home and hopefully, he gets well soon,” Chimaev’s manager stated last year.

Hence, Dana White had to think about the possibilities with a considerable amount of time left for UFC 319. So he decided to appoint the Israel Adesanya slaying Nassourdine Imavov as the backup fighter for the fight between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev if either one of them fail to make it to the PPV in August.

Having a backup fighter is not only important to tackle sudden health situations or injuries, but also to give fans their money’s worth, and the fact that the show must go on. However, the champion Dricus du Plessis is excited about the prospect of sharing the Octagon with Khamzat Chimaev, and even shared a message to his opponent after Dana White’s announcement.

Dricus du Plessis has something special in store for Khamzat Chimaev as their headliner gets a backup fighter

Dricus du Plessis has always been confident about his chances against Khamzat Chimaev. Since the Chechen-born undefeated star has a powerful ground game, ‘Stillknocks’ wants to beat him at his own game and finish the fight on the “floor.” Well, Chimaev claims that du Plessis can prepare anyway he wants because things are going to get dangerous when the butt heads.

Meanwhile, an unfazed Dricus du Plessis claims that he will show up and show out, surprising the fans and Khamzat Chimaev with a new version of himself. “Prepare to be amazed,” the middleweight champion wrote in a recent Instagram post. It remains to be seen how ‘Borz’ reacts to this message and warning from the champion now, as he finally has his chance at UFC gold.

Meanwhile, Dana White picking Nassourdine Imavov seems like a logical choice. Unlike at UFC 296, when he gave Colby Covington a chance despite being away for a while and coming off a loss, the French middleweight is currently on a 4-fight winning streak and is ranked #1 in the rankings. What do you have to say about the UFC CEO’s pick as the backup fighter for UFC 319’s main event? Drop your comments below.