Sean O’Malley was impressed by how Israel Adesanya performed in defeat against the UFC middleweight champion, and he thinks Khamzat Chimaev will go a step further.
All eyes are on the 185-pound division in August, as reigning titleholder Dricus du Plessis faces a challenge that many are deeming to be the toughest of his unbeaten UFC career to date.
Chimaev has yet to taste defeat in MMA and most recently ran through Robert Whittaker by way of submission in 2024. After numerous health problems in the past stalled his push toward UFC gold, ‘Borz’ finally gets his chance in the main event of UFC 319 on August 16.
And less than two weeks out from the event at Chicago’s United Center, O’Malley has made his pick.
Sean O’Malley chooses Khamzat Chimaev to dethrone Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319
After seeing Chimaev crush Whittaker with a face crank last October, many quickly pointed to the Chechen as a contender capable of doing what some prominent names have failed to thus far.
Since his crowning, Du Plessis has beaten Adesanya and the man he unseated, Sean Strickland, in a rematch to successfully defend his title twice. During an appearance on Mike Perry’s Overdogs Podcast, O’Malley suggested that is where the South African’s perfect UFC run will end.
‘Suga’ gave his pick for the UFC 319 main event after rewatching Adesanya’s title challenge against ‘Stillknocks’ 12 months ago. Despite Du Plessis submitting ‘The Last Stylebender’, O’Malley believes Adesanya enjoyed dominance over the champ for much of the UFC 305 headliner.
“Khamzat vs. DDP is very exciting for me right now,” O’Malley said. “I just watched DDP vs. Israel this morning before practice. Dude, Izzy was looking so good in that fight…DDP took over, but dude, Izzy was for the most part dominating.
“I feel like Khamzat is hard to count out; DDP is too. Obviously, everyone keeps counting him (Du Plessis) out each fight and he comes out there and does it.
“Khamzat, after what he did to Whittaker, the way he did it to Whittaker, it’s like, holy — yeah, I’mma go with Khamzat on that,” O’Malley added.
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Dricus du Plessis is promising to prove his doubters wrong again at UFC 319
From Du Plessis knocking out Whittaker to the title crowning and defenses that have followed, the South African has made a habit out of proving his haters wrong inside the Octagon.
And Du Plessis made a similar UFC 319 promise, vowing to become the first to defeat Chimaev in MMA and further cement himself on the middleweight throne.
“I don’t care how good you think you are, how tough, how fit, or how strong,” Du Plessis wrote on Instagram.
“When you step into that octagon with me, it will be a first-time experience and not a pleasant one.
“That’s a promise. As we say in 🇿🇦 built different!! #stillknocks #preparetobeamazed.”