Even as Dricus Du Plessis prepares for his second title defense against former champion Sean Strickland, the MMA community’s imagination has been captured by a more tantalizing prospect: a potential showdown with Khamzat Chimaev. The intrigue is understandable- Chimaev’s meteoric rise through the ranks has been punctuated by dominant performances and an aura of invincibility.

Moreover, the stylistic matchup presents fascinating questions: Du Plessis’s relentless pressure and unorthodox striking against Chimaev’s overwhelming wrestling and raw physical gifts. It is safe to say that this bout is truly the fight to make at 185lbs. And it seems that former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub and his ‘The Fighter and the Kid’ podcast co-host and comedian Bryan Callen carry the same sentiment.

But Schaub isn’t just excited about a Du Plessis-Chimaev fight: he is sure of a victory for the South African juggernaut. For a somewhat strange reason no less. “I think DDP mollyw**ps Khamzat, too. I think he is a nightmare for  Khamzat,” Schaub declared on his podcast, which drew an immediate protest from Callen: “Really? I think Khamzat has all the wrestling. I think he gives him big problems in wrestling.” 

This is an almost self-evident point. After all, ‘Borz’ is extremely strong and may be the best grappler in his division, as he proved by blowing away Robert Whittaker in the very first round late last year. There is definitely a chance, as Callen pointed out, that ‘Borz’ takes ‘DDP’ down and dominates him there.

Schaub, however, isn’t worried about that. Why? Well because of Du Plessis’ own excellent ground game. “How’s he [Chimaev] finish him? Can’t submit him,” Schaub declared. But that why does Schaub think that Chimaev, who looks a much better grappler than Du Plessis won’t be able to submit the South African. Well, for a pretty unconvincing reason.

Schaub thinks Dricus Du Plessis will do to Chimaev what he did to some local grapplers

In 2021, Dricus Du Plessis entered a grappling tournament- Submission Kings Quintet. Here, he single-handedly submitted all five members of the entire Gracie Barra BJJ team. And the former heavyweight is apparently so impressed with this feat that he thinks Du Plessis is now un-submittable.

“Probably the most durable guy yeah. When you talk about grappling, remember DDP is a guy who entered, it’s like the last man standing. They like they call it shark rounds- so you stay as long as you can to submit people. He entered a tournament that was like that, it was filled with Gracie black belts- submitted all of them. You’re talking about a complete savage” Schaub declared.

This does seem like a bit of a stretch from Schaub. After all, no one is denying that Du Plessis is a good grappler. But is beating a local South African BJJ team, even if they trained under a Gracie, the same as beating Khamzat Chimaev, one of the best wrestlers in MMA? Most would say no.

There are, as they say, levels to this game. And ‘Borz’s grappling is definitely next level. Even for Du Plessis, who hasn’t faced an elite-level wrestler in his UFC stint so far. What do you think about Brendan Schaub’s wild claims regarding a potential bout between Du Plessis and Chimaev?