Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis is the stuff that brings hardcore and casual fight fans on the same page. The MMA equivalent of Holyfield-Tyson, we will find out what happens when fire and ice collide in the Octagon. The South African with his icy resolve and fierce doggedness is expected to take on ‘Borz’s volcanic explosiveness for the 185lbs strap in the near future. Both men seem unstoppable and both have yet to be beaten in the UFC.
This makes predicting their yet-to-be-announced title clash very difficult indeed. But one of the better people to do it would be fellow middleweight star, Shara Magomedov, who shared his thoughts on the matchup in an interview with Russian MMA promoter Kamil Gadzhiev.
“I always thought that his [Du Plessis’] opponent would win all the fights in the UFC. Du Plessis, for the last five fights, I always bet on his opponent. But he will somehow win. I am constantly surprised by this and somehow. I don’t know, somehow he manages to do that there in the fight. Somehow he will find something there. Somehow it will work out… Of course, Chimaev seems like he should win… but in reality, Du Plessis is like that,” ‘Shara Bullet’ declared.
“In short Khamzat is a favorite you will agree, but everything is possible?” Gadzhiev wanted to confirm. “Yes,” Magomedov asserted.
The reigning middleweight champion does have the tendency to make things happen out of nowhere. For instance, in his first title defense against Israel Adesanya last year, the South African was being picked apart by ‘Izzy’ and was trailing behind on the cards. However, Round 4 saw ‘DDP’ taking him down and submitting ‘The Last Stylebender.’
UFC DU PLESSIS ADESANYA, Dricus du Plessis of South Africa prepares to fight Israel Adesanya of Nigeria during their Middleweight title bout at UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Sunday, August 18, 2024. ACHTUNG: NUR REDAKTIONELLE NUTZUNG, KEINE ARCHIVIERUNG UND KEINE BUCHNUTZUNG PERTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxAUSxNZLxPNGxFIJxVANxSOLxTGA Copyright: xRICHARDxWAINWRIGHTx 20240818154606007870
Not to mention the champ fights in a manner that would get you yelled at by your coach. Moreover, fans have constantly chimed in that Du Plessis is blessed with ‘plot armor’ that helps him to come out on top. But ‘Shara Bullet’ thinks Du Plessis’ bag of tricks won’t work against Chimaev. Too bad the one-eyed dynamo didn’t go into details about why he thinks ‘Borz’ will win. But you can imagine it has something to do with ‘Borz’s historically great wrestling. However, the last man who beat Shara Magomedov saw Du Plessis-Chimaev going very differently.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page explains why Dricus Du Plessis has an advantage over Khamzat Chimaev
Michael ‘Venom’ Page feels that the only chance Chimaev has of beating Du Plessis is to stop him in the early rounds. Otherwise, the middleweight star thinks that DDP’s incessant offensive aggression would just be too overwhelming for the undefeated Emirati.
“If anybody was to [beat Chimaev], it would be Dricus. Because that is the muscular endurance… Merab, Dricus, these guys have the muscular endurance to be fighting at 7 the whole fight… Khamzat, he starts at 10 and he tries to maintain that. And it’s almost impossible to maintain that… So if you don’t k-ll him and get him out of there in that first round, second round, then you’re going to have a problem for the rest of the fight,” Page told Mike Perry on the latter’s ‘Overdogs’ podcast.
‘MVP’ is right, Chimaev does tend to slow down as the fight progresses. After dominating the first round of his UFC 294 clash against Kamaru Usman, ‘Borz’ started fading away in the second and third rounds. This would be no less than fatal when going against the relentless and incredibly durable Du Plessis, who is always looking to end the fight. What do you think about Shara Magomedov’s thoughts on the Du Plessis-Chimaev matchup?
The post “I Always Bet On His Opponent” – Shara Bullet Makes Unexpected Confession on Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev appeared first on EssentiallySports.