Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev is shaping up to be the biggest fight of the year.
We’re less than two weeks out from the middleweight title fight between champion Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, which headlines UFC 319 from Chicago, Illinois.
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both undefeated in the UFC. The highly-touted wrestler Chimaev has never lost a fight in MMA and has barely lost a round in the Octagon.
Still, there are many unanswered questions when it comes to Chimaev, one being his cardio, as he has yet to enter the championship rounds.
While some pundits predict Chimaev’s wrestling to overwhelm du Plessis early on, one of his former foes is backing the champion to come out on top in the five-round fight.
Gilbert Burns picks Dricus du Plessis over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
#10-ranked UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns gave Chimaev arguably his toughest fight at UFC 273 in 2022.
Burns dropped Chimaev and outlanded him in total strikes, pushing him to the absolute brink across three rounds before he lost a closely-contested decision.
Burns might not have been able to get his hand raised against Chimaev, but the former title challenger believes du Plessis has what it takes to hand Chimaev his first loss.
“I do believe he might take Dricus down, might control him a little bit,” Burns said of Chimaev on the Show Me The Money Podcast.
“I don’t believe Dricus will get knocked out. I don’t think he’s going to get cut. I don’t think he’s going to get finished.
“I do believe Dricus is going to fight through all that, get up.
“I think if he’s slowing down the way [he did] against Kamaru [Usman] against me, against a couple other fighters that the fight went late. I think it’s a nightmare to fight Dricus…”
“The guy comes as a freaking truck,” Burns said of Chimaev rushing his opponents with his wrestling.
“The only way to stop the truck is to have a car crash with the car. If you do have a car crash, Dricus, he gotta like fight the adversity but with the same energy. He’s got to give a lot of energy back. Saying that, both guys are going to get exhausted in the second round.
“But I do believe Dricus with all experience, a lot of five rounds fighting, I think he’s going to be able to recover, dig deep and he hit so hard.
“Maybe a decision,” Burns said of how du Plessis beats Chimaev.
“But I do believe a late finish. Not even that late. I think third to fourth round. That’s my prediction.”
Dricus du Plessis: ‘We’re not fighting for a wrestling title’
Du Plessis has been taken down before in the UFC by three fighters.
Former champion Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Darren Till were able to ground du Plessis, leaving many to wonder how much success Chimaev will have in the wrestling department.
Despite the edge in grappling, du Plessis is still confident in his abilities.
“Khamzat obviously [has] world class wrestling, grappling, but at this level of the sport, everybody’s world class,” du Plessis told FOX 32 Chicago.
“This is not grappling or wrestling. This is MMA. And that’s where I’m going to exploit, is being the best.
“We’re not fighting for a wrestling title. We’re not fighting for a grappling title. We are fighting for the UFC title. And that’s where I am the best.
“I’m not the best wrestler, I’m not the best grappler or best striker, but when you put all those things together, if you combine it, and that’s the sport we do, I am the best in the world,” said du Plessis.