In the jungle of UFC’s middleweight division, two apex predators are about to turn the Octagon into their personal war zone. We are talking about Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev: This fight, if booked, would look like two unstoppable forces colliding, and let us not forget that Dana White has revealed that ‘Borz’ will next fight for the title. His ground game has been his greatest weapon, whereas fans have yet to see how DDP, a striker, would defend himself against such an elite wrestler.

But every fighter seems unbeatable until they aren’t.

And regardless of who wins this future clash, it is certain that one dominant run will break. Here’s where it gets interesting. Michael ‘Venom’ Page–a man who knows a thing or two about breaking opponents–sees what others might miss. Page said on Mike Perry’s ‘Overdogs’ podcast:

“If anybody was to [beat up Chimaev], it would be Dricus. Because that is the muscular endurance. If you look at some of these fights nowadays. Merab, Dricus, these guys have the muscular endurance to be fighting at 7 the whole fight. Some guys, they start slow and try to build up or like I said, like a Khamzat. He starts at 10 and he tries to maintain that. And it’s almost impossible to maintain that.

“But you got someone like Merab that’s 7-8 from start to finish, mate. That’s difficult to deal with and Dricus seems exactly the same- he’s like 7-8 the whole time. So if you don’t k-ll him and get him out of there in that first round, second round, then you’re going to have a problem for the rest of the fight,” the veteran said while painting a grim picture for Chimaev.

Du Plessis isn’t just wearing the crown; he’s forged it in the flames of three former champions’ scalps. The man fights like he has got real-life plot armor and a nuclear reactor for a gas tank. On the other hand, while Chimaev has remained dominant throughout his stint in the promotion, his UFC 273 fight against Gilbert Burns showed he was human. This, coupled with his health issues, brings up concerns about his stamina and endurance inside the cage.

You will perhaps remember Chimaev’s UFC 294 clash against Kamaru Usman. In that fight, ‘Borz’ started spectacularly well, and dominated every second of the first round. However, the undefeated Emirati started gassing out in the latter rounds and looked almost out of in the third and final one. This is exactly the point Page is making: Chimaev’s explosiveness would actually be a liability against a durable and unrelenting fighter like Du Plessis.

That being said, he has dominantly prevailed over Robert Whittaker. ‘Bobby Knuckles’ was hailed as the man who would give ‘Borz’ his first defeat; That was until the Aussie fighter got submitted in round 1. Khamzat Chimaev’s explosiveness seems like both: A blessing and a curse.

Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will be an intriguing stylistic matchup!

The Du Plessis-Chimaev fight will be historic, no matter who wins. Either Chimaev loses his undefeated streak and Du Plessis gets one step closer to his aim of being the middleweight GOAT, or ‘Borz’ becomes the new champion by being the first person to beat the South African in the UFC.

What the fight will probably come down to is how well Du Plessis deals with Chimaev’s takedown attempts and wrestling. ‘DDP’ may be a pretty good wrestler, but Khamzat Chimaev is miles ahead. That is why it would be better if the champ could keep the fight on the feet.

On the other hand, the South African’s unpredictable and wild exchanges could be a reality check for the Chechen wolf. Moreover, his ability to mesh schoolyard bully spazzy arm swinging with sublime technique is changing the game, and it is unlike anything the Chechnya native has ever faced.

DDP’s jerky movements with lots of lunging and over-extending don’t follow what is technical, but he makes it work for himself. If he could work on his takedown defense and keep Chimaev from bringing the fight to the ground, he could have some chances.

This could dash Khamzat Chimaev’s championship dreams if he gasses out, as ‘MVP’ suspects he would. What do you think about Page’s thoughts on the Du Plessis-Chimaev clash?