Khamzat Chimaev put on a flawless performance to win the middleweight title at UFC 319.
Dricus du Plessis was mauled for five rounds as he slipped to a lopsided decision defeat on Saturday night.
An astonishing stat showed just how one-sided the UFC 319 main event was. Khamzat Chimaev landed over 500 punches, but he’s still facing criticism for being ‘boring’ in the aftermath of his career-best victory.
Roberto Soldic says the new 185lb UFC king is just lucky that he doesn’t fight for one of the other major MMA leagues.
Khamzat Chimaev would face fine and punishment in ONE
The only man to KO Du Plessis had his say about UFC 319 during an interview with Bloody Elbow.
Soldic believes Chimaev’s heavy wrestling style wouldn’t go down well in ONE Championship.
‘Robocop’ insists a yellow card would’ve been given by the referee for inactivity. In Asia’s biggest combat sports league, a yellow card is issued for minor fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct, such as stalling or failing to engage.
It typically carries a financial penalty of around 10 percent of the offending fighter’s purse. A second yellow card could result in the fighter being disqualified from the bout.
“It’s not boring, but we need some action,” Soldic said on Monday.
“When [Ilia] Topuria, Islam Makhachev, or [Alex] Pereira fight, this is more exciting, which is good for fans
“Also, referee, you cannot just stay for three minutes and do nothing. 700 punches and nobody took any cuts or damage.
“I think in ONE, this fight would be stood up. For sure, they would give a yellow card for inactivity.
“The whole crowd booing the whole time. Nobody wants to see this, but it’s MMA.
“If you don’t want to watch this, then go watch ONE and you will see crazy knockout and crazy striking.”
Robert Soldic questions the Dricus du Plessis camp
Soldic was shocked to see his two-time rival look so unprepared for Chimaev’s wrestling.
The last man to beat Du Plessis before UFC 319 questioned how he prepared for his latest fight.
“I don’t know what they did in the Dricus fight camp about wrestling,” Soldic added.
“It was so easy to take him down. You know, he couldn’t defend any takedown.
“I don’t really know what Dricus did in the fight camp. The wrestling was bad from him.
“This was very bad for him.”