The main event of UFC 319 pits two of the most distinct styles in the sport against each other.
Dricus du Plessis looks to be in remarkable physical shape for his next defense of the UFC middleweight title in Chicago.
When combined with his awkward style, the athletic ability and constant output of the champion has proven to be incredibly effective.
On the other hand, Khamzat Chimaev is a bulldozer who has completely dominated and made quick work of many different opponents during his undefeated run.
While his camp believe that Chimaev’s cardio will be better than ever on August 16, any opponent is in for a difficult night if he can get a hold of them early.
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Khamzat Chimaev and Tom Aspinall have only been controlled on the ground for seven seconds combined
Aside from his more back and forth clashes with Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev has completely mauled every other opponent he’s faced in the UFC.
Everyone knows that he’s going to be looking for an early takedown so that he can immediately start looking for a finish but very few opponents have been able to prevent this or withstand it.
A recent post from ESPN MMA shows just how dominant ‘Borz’ has been by showing that he’s second in one statistic when looking at active fighters on the roster.
Only the heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has less time than him in bottom position, which highlights how good both men are at dictating the fight and coming through big matchups without facing much adversity.
UFC Stats has Aspinall giving up just one second of control time in his only UFC loss, where he suffered a knee injury 15 seconds into his first matchup with Curtis Blaydes in 2022.
Chimaev’s only time that he has spent on the bottom was in his incredible UFC 273 war with Gilbert Burns where UFC Stats has ‘Durinho’ racking up a total of six seconds of control time.
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Tom Aspinall and Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC grappling stats compared
Of course, when comparing Tom Aspinall and Khamzat Chimaev’s grappling stats, there are some factors to take into account.
While Aspinall has taken opponents down and submitted them in the UFC, with ‘Borz’ standing and striking from time to time, they have very different styles.
The heavyweight champion is usually more focused on keeping opponents at distance where his speed and footwork is his best weapon whereas we’ve seen Chimaev nearly dive at opponents right from the opening bell.
| UFC Stats | Tom Aspinall | Khamzat Chimaev |
| Amount of UFC fights | 9 | 8 |
| Average takedowns landed per 15 minutes | 3.27 | 4.31 |
| Takedown accuracy | 100% | 46% |
| Takedown defense (% of opponents attempts that did not land) | 100% | 100% |
| Average submissions attempted per 15 minutes | 1.6 | 2.8 |
Chimaev’s stats would look much stronger if it wasn’t for the two very competitive fights on his record that went the full 15-minute duration.
His UFC 294 win over Kamaru Usman in particular, who is another elite wrestler, saw him only secure 4 of 12 takedown attempts.