‘I Have Fought Du Plessis & Sparred Chimaev

At UFC 319, which will take place later on this summer on the 16th of August, Dricus du Plessis will make the third defence of his UFC middleweight title against undefeated powerhouse Khamzat Chimaev, in what will be by far both men’s biggest test in the UFC so far.

Given both fighters’ unpredictable and exciting styles, fans are eagerly awaiting the showdown, and it is probably the most hyped UFC middleweight title fight in the last decade, ever since the days of Anderson Silva’s dominance at 185lbs.

Given the fact that Chimaev is historically a lightning-fast starter in his fights, a lot of MMA fans and analysts who have submitted their early predictions believe that he will simply have too much for Du Plessis early on and will get a quick finish. However, a man who has had experience competing against both ‘Borz’ and ‘Stillknocks’ has given a very confident prediction of his own which may shock people.

Exclusive: ‘I Gave Dricus du Plessis His Toughest UFC Fight – Here’s How Chimaev Beats Him’

Du Plessis looks set for a tough night at UFC 319…

Sean Strickland’s Prediction For Du Plessis vs Chimaev

Strickland has fought du Plessis twice and sparred with Chimaev

If there is a fighter who knows Dricus du Plessis better than anyone else, it is Sean Strickland. The pair have fought each other twice with the UFC middleweight title on the line, and have spent 50 minutes in the Octagon battling against each other, so there is probably no better man to go to for a ‘Stillknocks’ fight prediction than Strickland.

As well as having shared the Octagon with the South African twice, the American has also experienced what it is like to be locked in the cage with Khamzat Chimaev, albeit in a sparring situation, not in a competitive UFC fight.

During a recent interview with Helen Yee, Strickland predicted that Du Plessis would retain his title at UFC 319 and also spoke about what the South African needs to do to ensure he comes out victorious against ‘Borz.’

“I usually could counter-wrestle and grapple them. So, I just don’t know if f****** Dricus can be able to counter-wrestle him. But if he can, I think he wins, hands down. I sparred the f****** Chechen w****. Hands down, I think Dricus wins. It’s just going to come down to are you going to be able to stop that and counter-wrestle him? You can. It’s not hard.”

Dricus du Plessis & Khamzat Chimaev’s professional MMA records (as of 21/05/25)
	Dricus du Plessis	Khamzat Chimaev
Fights	25	14
Wins	23	14
Losses	2	0

Although many fans may be shocked by Strickland saying “it’s not hard” to counter-wrestle against Chimaev, given the dominance of his most recent victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, in fights prior to that, fighters such as Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, who are natural welterweights, have shown that if you can defend smart and well early on against ‘Borz’, he is definitely not invincible and unbeatable.

Given the somewhat wacky but effective style Du Plessis fights with, Chimaev may struggle to grapple against him as he likely will not have seen counter-wrestling as unorthodox as the South African’s, which makes this huge middleweight showdown even more exciting for fans.