In about a month’s time, the UFC will arrive in Chicago with a middleweight championship main event for UFC 319 that features Dricus Du Plessis defending the title against Khamzat Chimaev.
Both men in their own right have been seemingly unbeatable, as both men will enter unbeaten in their UFC tenures — and just two losses (both Du Plessis’) in the 39 fights combined between their two professional MMA careers.
Chimaev being so dominant in most of his performances, combined with the hype around him and his fighting style, have led plenty to feel he will leave Chicago with the belt strapped around his waist. Others, however, feel Du Plessis’ own, more awkward fighting style will land him yet another surprise victory in the cage.
When breaking down a comparison between the two’s fighting styles, another unbeaten UFC fighter, Mansur Abdul-Malik, feels Chimaev’s will get the better of DDP.
“Khamzat comes in that first round guns blazing,” Abdul-Malik told James Lynch recently. “He does a similar thing every single fight, but that thing has not failed. So, you really can’t bet against that.”
Mansur Abdul-Malik Predicts Khamzat Chimaev Will Defeat Dricus Du Plessis For UFC Middleweight Title At UFC 319
If there are two things Chimaev is known for in the Octagon, it is his dominant, freestyle-based wrestling and is “smashing” ground-and-pound that he’ll use on his opponents to try and finish the fight after securing the takedown. Sometimes those takedowns will also be set up through the usage of his boxing.
That fight style has led Chimaev not only to an undefeated UFC tenure, but also an unbeaten record in the sport, and some feel Du Plessis may struggle with that kind of pressure.
Abdul-Malik added that he feels Chimaev also is strong in terms of the mental aspects of the game, noting a specific example with his decision win in a highly entertaining bout with former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
“[Chimaev is] tough in his own right,” Abdul-Malik said. “Look at the Gilbert Burns example. Look at his mentality. Look at the way he competes. Look at the fire that he comes with. That’s not someone that’s going to give up.”
Despite repeated one-year layoffs the last couple of years, and time off to deal with illnesses during his Octagon tenure, Chimaev has had plenty of hype around him, with early expectations of him becoming a UFC champion — something that could become a reality in about a month at UFC 319.
Chimaev earned his title shot off a dominant performance against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. It should be noted that Whittaker’s only other losses at 185 in the Octagon — Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis — have each tasted middleweight gold.
Du Plessis won the middleweight title by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and retained the gold against Adesanya at UFC 305 and Strickland at UFC 312.
