Khamzat Chimaev put the whole middleweight division on notice with his first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker. With the UFC 308 win, ‘Borz’ took Whittaker’s spot on the rankings at #3. Perhaps a win over either Adesanya (#2) or Strickland (#1) would seal the deal in terms of the title shot. While Sean Strickland has been gunning for a rematch with the champion, Dricus Du Plessis seems to have his eyes set on Khamzat Chimaev.

The South African Champion, in an interview with Brett Okamoto, tipped his hat to Chimaev for being a ‘great first-round’ fighter. The key to beating ‘Borz’ is to survive the early onslaught, according to ‘Stillknocks’. DDP also noted that the Chechen fighter isn’t as effective from round three onwards. Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman took Chimaev to the last bell, and ‘Borz’ visibly struggled in both those third rounds.

While acknowledging Chimaev’s grappling, ‘DDP’ doesn’t think he lacks the Chechen fighter’s strength – “When it comes to strength, there’s not even a doubt in my mind. You know, Khamzat is a strong guy. I don’t think – no, I know for a fact that he’s never fought power like this. Now, when it comes to his wrestling, obviously that’s his strong suite and where he likes to take a fight. And, I would welcome that if I had to fight him. You know, let’s meet strengths and see who can last”.

Even in the fight with Whittaker, we didn’t really get to see Khamzat Chimaev truly tested. From the get-go, the Chechen stuck to his strengths, taking ‘The Reaper’ into his territory. Perhaps, if Robert Whittaker’s teeth didn’t break, we might have seen a familiar outcome of ‘Borz’ fatiguing. Comparing Chimaev’s strength to his, ‘Stillknocks’ continued, “I think, the fact that he always fights with his strength, he uses that strength – that’s why he gets tired. You can say the same about me. And at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to who’s willing to give up and who’s willing to die in there. You know, I’ve answered that question many, many times”.

Dricus Du Plessis has proved his mettle by beating top contenders like Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. With Khamzat Chimaev in the top 5, it seems likely that he will fight for the title sometime in 2025. Should he face Du Plessis, will he underestimate his blitzing style or will he tread with caution?

“A lot of guys make that same mistake” – Dricus Du Plessis on top middleweights who counted him out

While Khamzat Chimaev has a very distinctive fighting style, Dricus Du Plessis’ style is also distinctively peculiar. Dana White has described ‘Stillknocks’ fighting style as ‘a white guy dancing’. To elaborate, the UFC head honcho admires Du Plessis’ ‘awkward and unorthodox’ fighting style that many fighters find difficult to deal with. In his fight against Brad Tavares, Du Plessis got rocked in the first round and fatigued in the second. However, by the third round, the South African fighter came back in a dogfight that won him the bout.

According to Du Plessis, his unorthodox fighting style is what caused fighters like Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland to underestimate him. Speaking to Okamoto on ESPN, ‘Stillknocks’ said the following, “I think a lot of guys make that same mistake with me. I think Sean Strickland made that mistake with me – maybe, even Israel [Adesanya]. Saying, ‘Listen, get past rounds one and two with this guy, and he’s going to be tired. And that’s where you start gaining. But, you know, if you have a defensive mindset, you’re going to be on backfoot the whole time, especially with an offensive-heavy fighter.”

DDP put both Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya on the back foot in their respective bouts. Du Plessis also became the first to submit Israel Adesanya in MMA. Strickland is gunning for a rematch with Du Plessis, but the champ himself favors Khamzat Chimaev for the next title shot. What are Du Plessis’ chances against Chimaev? Will he be able to offset the Chechen’s initial storm in the first round? Let us know in the comments below.