Only a couple of UFC fighters have survived Khamzat Chimaev.
The undefeated prodigy from Chechnya finally arrives at a title fight as he takes on UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 319 this weekend in Chicago.
With a 25-fight win streak between them, Du Plessis vs. Chimaev is shaping up to be the biggest fight of the year.
The UFC world is split on who will win the stylistic matchup. Sean Strickland and Gilbert Burns back du Plessis to retain the title while former DDP foe and Chimaev teammate Darren Till predicts Chimaev to come out on top.
A former champion who gave Chimaev his ‘hardest’ fight has also made his pick for the UFC 319 headliner.
Kamaru Usman thinks Khamzat Chimaev will finish Dricus du Plessis
Once the UFC’s pound-for-pound king, Kamaru Usman gave Chimaev a run for his money in a short notice fight at middleweight back in 2023.
Usman had only been taken down once prior to facing Chimaev at UFC 294. The former champion was nearly submitted in the first round but after surviving it, Usman found some success on the feet against Chimaev in rounds 2 and 3.
As one of two fighters to go the distance with Chimaev, Usman believes ‘Borz’ gets his hand raised against du Plessis this weekend.
“Don’t forget DDP hasn’t really fought a wrestler since Derek Brunson,” Usman said on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast.
“You saw how that fight was looking. Derek gassed out and DDP does what he does best. DDP will not give up. That’s what we love about him. He will not give up. DDP will continue to try.”
Du Plessis defeated wrestler Derek Brunson by second-round TKO at UFC 285.
“If DDP continues to try and if Khamzat Chimaev hasn’t done his work with that cardio, then I see DDP definitely turning this one around. But for me, this is a very, very tough one…
“I think Khamzat Chimaev might actually go out there and get it done,” Usman predicted.
“If you look at the landscape of where we are right now, it’s almost like every so often we get a turn, we get a new generation of guys that come out and just become the superstars of the game.
“You’re talking Conor McGregor out of nowhere, the superstars of the game. You’re talking about Alexander Volkanovski, Israel Adesanya. You’re talking about Ilia Topuria. Look at the landscape. We got Tom Aspinall and you’ve got potentially Khamzat Chimaev,” Usman added.
Dricus du Plessis looks back on Derek Brunson fight
At UFC 319 media day, du Plessis was asked what had changed between his fight with Derek Brunson in 2023 and now.
Brunson fought a decent first round against du Plessis, outwrestling him for two minutes and 30 seconds of control time.
Brunson later fatigued in the second round and his corner threw in the towel right before the bell sounded.
“It can’t really go worse than him throwing in a towel,” du Plessis said of the Brunson fight (via MMA Fighting).
“Take your first round. Cool. I’ll take your towel,” the champion added.