After taking a week to process his thoughts, Dricus du Plessis has issued a lengthy statement reflecting on his middleweight title loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.

“It’s been just over a week and I have spent some time with my family and friends, those closest to me who will be with me win or lose,” Du Plessis wrote on Instagram. “I embrace this loss with open arms, because believe me as much as I hate losing, it’s as much part of life as part of our game — and I believe it’s necessary in my pursuit of greatness. ‘Without the bitter, the sweet wouldn’t be as sweet.’”

“Make no mistake I’m not a good loser, because a good loser becomes a frequent one. I am however — an avid learner of the arts and of life itself. This loss has exploded a desire in me that will have the consequence of an onslaught bigger than the original domination — my return to glory and pursuit of greatness will be unimaginable for the average minded.

“I have absolutely no excuses for my performance, I was beaten by a better fighter on the night, congratulations to my opponent and thank you for the honor of sharing the Octagon with you. Thank you for all the love and support from fans all over the world, and my sponsors that has always and will in the future play a critical role in my success AND SINCERELY thank you to all those who enjoyed to see me fall, because I will return the favor, like I always have.”

The 31-year-old DDP was on a nine-fight winning streak since joining the UFC prior to his loss to Khamzat, including an upset win over Sean Strickland to win the 185lb title at the start of 2024, before going on to make two successful defenses of the belt against Israel Adesanya and Strickland in their rematch.

Given the one-side nature of his fight with Khamzat a rematch appears out of the question for now, but there’s plenty of other big fights for du Plessis in the division to prove that he’s ready to fight for the belt again, though at this stage there’s no word on when he might return to the Octagon.