Yoel Romero is leaning slightly towards one particular side in the anticipated Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, with Sean Strickland firmly in the rearview mirror after UFC 312, is likely set to face Khamzat Chimaev for his next title defense. The undefeated Chimaev earned the likely next middleweight title shot by submitting Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
Since making the full-time move from welterweight to middleweight, Chimaev hasn’t lost a step in this new weight class. He’s earned wins over Kamaru Usman and Whittaker to cement himself as the No. 1 contender.
But du Plessis presents a unique challenge that Chimaev arguably hasn’t faced yet in his career.
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Yoel Romero highlights Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling as ‘Olympic level’
After successful title defenses against Israel Adesanya and Strickland, du Plessis is on the hunt for new challenges at 185 lbs. Chimaev would arguably be the toughest test of his middleweight title reign due to the undefeated contender’s elite grappling.
A former title challenger believes Chimaev’s wrestling prowess makes him a slight favorite against du Plessis.
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, former UFC star Yoel Romero gave his thoughts on the next likely middleweight title fight.
“It’s very difficult, but 60-40 Chimaev,” Romero said of du Plessis vs. Chimaev. “60 percent for Chimaev, 40 percent for du Plessis. Wrestling…the wrestling for Chimaev right now is very, very dangerous. It’s Olympic level.”
Romero’s grappling praise, as an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, is particularly noteworthy. The former title challenger fought some of the top middleweights in UFC history during his promotional tenure, earning wins against the likes of Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman.
But du Plessis has also demonstrated solid grappling during his middleweight title reign to go with his unorthodox striking. While Chimaev has dominated his opposition with his wrestling in his previous fights, taking down du Plessis might not be the cakewalk some fans expect.
Dricus du Plessis lost out on ‘biggest payday’ after UFC 313 result
Du Plessis’ next middleweight title defense will come after the top fight on his hitlist against Alex Pereira fell apart after Pereira’s loss at UFC 313. The middleweight champ had a bummed reaction to missing out on his ‘biggest payday’ after Pereira’s recent defeat to Magomed Ankalaev.
Another middleweight standout, Roman Dolidze, feels differently than Romero about du Plessis vs. Chimaev. Dolidze, who earned a big win last weekend at UFC Vegas 104, believes du Plessis could give Chimaev some trouble in their anticipated fight.
The du Plessis vs. Chimaev winner could potentially face UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad for their next fight after Muhammad’s recent teases. Muhammad will face Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 before a potential move up to middleweight.
Du Plessis recently explained a potential gameplan for fighting Chimaev later this year and is supremely confident in handing Chimaev his first career defeat. He wanted to headline the UFC’s International Fight Week card in June in Las Vegas.
An announcement regarding du Plessis vs. Chimaev seems imminent, and we could be on the verge of one of the all-time biggest middleweight fights in UFC history.