MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on the striking differences between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
Tomorrow night, Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight championship against Khamzat Chimaev. He'll do so in the main event of UFC 319, and he'll do so with a lot of people doubting his ability to get the job done. Of course, that's nothing new for DDP in his UFC career.
He has constantly been able to flip the script and spring an upset - or at least, what would be seen as an upset in the eyes of the fans. Alas, Dricus du Plessis is far more talented than a lot of people give him credit for, especially in the striking department.
Speaking of which, Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on how the striking exchanges could go between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday.
Chael Sonnen’s view on Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev
"In the history of Chimaev’s striking, there was one moment — one shot — landed by Gilbert Burns. It got through, and Chimaev went down to a knee. He popped right back up. He won the standup battle in that fight, which was an instant classic, colossally hard and close. And against Kamaru Usman — who can handle himself everywhere, who was even in talks to box Canelo — Chimaev still won the standup portion. That one Gilbert shot has made people think he can’t strike, but that’s not what the record shows."
"Dricus is much better in understanding and experience if you were to put him in pure boxing or kickboxing. Which one would do better in that environment? Dricus. But does that mean he can beat Chimaev in an MMA striking exchange? Very different. Chimaev is ugly, street-fighter-esque. He’s punching you just to get in and clinch — which would be a foul in boxing — but in MMA, it works. He still lands punches, he still throws a lot, there’s still power on them, and they’re still aimed right at your face."
"I’m not asking if they just stand and box. I’m asking if they’re on their feet in an MMA fight — are you sure Dricus is better? That’s the question."
