Khamzat Chimaev Will Struggle in Only One Area Against Dricus Du Plessis, Explains UFC Middleweight
Khamzat Chimaev has advantages on paper in his looming fight with Dricus Du Plessis, but one of the standout contenders at 185 pounds sees an area of Chimaev’s game where he could falter against the defending champion. At UFC 319 on August 16th, Dricus du Plessis aims to successfully defend his middleweight crown and hand Khamzat Chimaev his first-ever professional MMA defeat in the process.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Caio Borralho covered several subjects related to this Chicago-based pay-per-view headliner and his thoughts on the machinations of the matchup, as du Plessis is set to clash with Chimaev soon. Also of note, the UFC’s number six-ranked middleweight contender Borralho is positioned as the official backup fighter for this UFC 319 title fight between DDP and ‘Borz’.
That being said, the surging Brazilian combatant also has a contest booked against the number one-ranked middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Paris on September 6th. Plus, Corralho also has some localized insights with ‘Borz’ as he has trained with Chimaev in the past. When offering up his viewpoints on the next UFC middleweight title fight, which is set to take place in less than two weeks’ time, Caio Borralho said,
“This is crazy because I always bet against Dricus Du Plessis and he always shut my mouth! … 60% of me says Khamzat will finish this fight real fast, but 40% says Dricus, with his size and height, can stop the takedowns or survive the first two rounds. Then the fight gets better for him.”
“The longer the fight goes, the more it favors DDP. For sure, 100%.”
Khamzat Chimaev is seen as an easier fight than Dricus du Plessis, according to a surging UFC middleweight
Khamzat Chimaev is seen as a more simplistic night of work than Dricus du Plessis per recent comments from a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder who has been on a tear throughout his UFC tenure so far.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports after his recent victory over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Reinier de Ridder expressed that he feels like the reigning middleweight champion would be a harder puzzle to solve than the hungry, explosive title challenger.
When offering up his own perspectives on the UFC 319 headliner as someone who seems on a path toward his own title shot sooner rather than later, Reinier de Ridder stated [via Bloody Elbow],
“Khamzat would be an easier fight to prepare for I think. There’s more great wrestlers who also have good striking, but who mostly are great wrestlers. Dricus is just all over the place that it’ll be very hard to find a guy who can emulate Dricus. So Khamzat, I think will be easier to prepare for, but still of course, another fight of my life. Both of them will be on the schedule before long.”
