The champion has spoken. Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the middleweight title scene by submitting Robert Whittaker in one round during the co-main event of UFC 308. Now in third place in the ranking, Chimaev sounds, despite what Sean Strickland refutes, as the next in line to the throne of Dricus Du Plessis. A notion that even the African has approved of recently during an interview on the podcast Radioraps.

‘Stillknocks’ said, “Getting that Khamzat fight gets me excited. I think the whole world and the fans want to see it. The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights. So, the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. I think the Khamzat fight is 100% what I want. The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.” So it surely looks like fans can expect a title fight between the two phenoms of the middleweight division. This has led many to speculate on the result of the fight, with ‘Borz’ being the early betting favorite against Dricus Du Plessis. However, you cannot completely count out the UFC middleweight titleholder, and here are the reasons why he could defeat Khamzat Chimaev.

Dricus du Plessis can match Khamzat Chimaev’s strength

‘Borz’ is known for his brute explosive strength. Something that was surely on display in his fight against Robert Whittaker. After taking down the Australian, it took little effort for Khamzat Chimaev to break his jaw. However, one must not forget that Dricus Du Plessis is also one of the roster’s strongest fighters. He even claimed that he was a tank against a gun like Chimaev. “(Khamzat) has a gun and I have a tank, when it comes to the strength… Khamzat, you think you’re strong; you think you’re powerful. You have not felt anything.” 

Even Joe Rogan calls ‘Stillknocks’ a scary man who is massive in size. On his podcast, he once said, “Dricus is f**cking scary. The way he beat the f**k out of Robert Whittaker. Who saw that coming? Especially after Whittaker and Adesanya had a very close second match. He is so big, dude. Every time I shake his hand, I’m like, “How are you 185 pounds? He looks like a heavyweight.” 

Chimaev’s recent rival Whittaker also spoke about Du Plessis’ strength, as in an interview ahead of his fight against Khamzat Chimaev, ‘The Reaper’ opened up about Dricus Du Plessis. Whittaker is no stranger to the middleweight champion. The 33-year-old Australian faced ‘Stillknocks’ at UFC 290 in July 2023, where Du Plessis stopped him in the second round. He noted that while Du Plessis boasts an unorthodox fighting style, it’s his brute strength, toughness, and steely mentality that drives his success in the cage.

He said, “I think he’s got a really solid headspace and mentality for winning. I think that’s his superpower because he’s an awkward dude; he obviously hits really hard, and he’s tough as nails. But I think all of that stems from his relentlessness mentally. He’s literally willing to die out there, and I think if you don’t match that mentality if you don’t come into the octagon with the same headspace, you’re not going to take it from him.” Well, if someone as huge as Robert Whittaker claims DDP is strong, then chances are that his punches surely can break ribs in a jiffy.

The middleweight champ isn’t a stranger to an ugly scramble

Dricus Du Plessis is a huge guy. Growing up, he used to play rugby throughout his schooling years, and that is something that has truly proven beneficial when it comes to his MMA fights. He is a tough guy to take down, and even if one succeeds, ‘Stillknocks’ is a great scrambler who manages to find his way out. His unorthodox wrestling and ground skills was on display in his fights against Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

During his fight against Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis made an ugly yet effective takedown against the Aussie. He pulled off the same maneuver in his fight against Israel Adesanya; after knocking down ‘Izzy’ with some right hooks, Du Plessis climbed onto the back of his opponent and converted the scramble into a rear naked choke. So when he goes one-on-one against a fighter like Khamzat Chimaev, who surely loves to rely on his wrestling and takedowns, Du Plessis would have the technique to find his way out of a hold or get into a mount to assert dominance instead.

Dricus Du Plessis can knock out Khamzat Chimaev!

While many might be of the opinion that Khamzat Chimaev can be dominant from the very beginning in his fight against Dricus Du Plessis the way he was against Whittaker, they wouldn’t be far from the truth. Even before the fight began, fans and pundits alike believed that Khamzat would gas out after the first round and the former UFC middleweight champion would take the opportunity to knock the Chechen out in round two.

However, that’s not how it turned out for Whittaker, who fought too defensively in the first round to provide Chimaev the opportunity to assert dominance. This was something that was noticed by Du Plessis, who now senses that the key to defeating ‘Borz’ is not being too defensive, as he revealed in a recent interview. ‘Stillknocks’ said, “Rob being technically very, very good, but there wasn’t a stage where he even threatened with a submission, whether it be a submission with a strike or just forward pressure. He didn’t threaten Khamzat in any way.” 

He further added, “If you have a defensive mindset, you’re going to be on the back foot the whole time, especially with an offensive, heavy fighter like Khamzat in the offensive wrestling stage—and myself in the offensive everything stage.” With 9 of his 22 wins coming off TKOs, Du Plessis would surely be trying to connect as many hits as he can to keep the Chechen at bay. With his brute strength, his striking can surely be enough to tire out Chimaev and even knock him out. What do you think? Do you agree with our opinion? Let us know in the comments.