UFC veteran Chael Sonnen isn’t convinced that Khamzat Chimaev will be able to take Dricus du Plessis down whenever he wants in their upcoming title fight.
At UFC 319, Khamzat Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship. It’s been a long time coming, with many believing that ‘Borz’ would’ve earned a title shot long before this. Alas, it’s finally arrived, and many people consider him to be the favorite against the seemingly unstoppable South African champion.
Alas, for Khamzat Chimaev, this promises to be the toughest test of his career – at least from a mental point of view. He needs to block out the noise and focus on the task at hand, which is winning the gold.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen weighed in on Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev.
Chael Sonnen’s view on Khamzat Chimaev vs Dricus du Plessis
“Is it a surprise that Chimaev is a favorite? No, I would expect him to be. But I also feel as though if I were predicting this today, I would lean Chimaev-as long as you didn’t ask me a follow-up question. Like, if I told you, ‘Hey, I think Chimaev’s going to beat Dricus.’ Okay, great.
“If we all get up and walk out of the room, we’re fine. The problem is if you’re going to ask me how-how is he going to beat him?
“Because I am not fully confident that Chimaev can take him down at will. I’m not fully confident he can keep him there. We’re going to know in the very first round-if Dricus gets taken down in the first round, things are going to unravel very quickly.
“But if he can defend a takedown for the entire first five minutes, it’s only going to get easier to stay on your feet after that. It’s an exciting match. I would expect Chimaev to be the favorite-and he is.”
