Sean Strickland knows everything about the two men fighting at the UFC 319 Main Event.
In what is perhaps the biggest fight of the year, UFC Middleweight Champion DRICUS DU PLESSIS will defend his middleweight title for the third time by 14-0 competition Khamzat Chimaev on August 16 in Chicago.
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both undefeated in the UFC and Elke Jager brings a unique skills to the Octagon.
Du Plessis in South Africa has an uncomfortable but effective fighting style and is very well rounded from its wrestling to his unorthodox striking. He stopped Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya in the distance and has decided Sean Strickland twice.
Opposite him, Chimaev is a beast in the wrestling department. Chimaev once ended back-to-back opponents in 10 days and comes out of victories over former champions Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker.
Months of UFC 319 have already started the predictions for Du Plessis vs. Chimaev.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Sean Strickland takes Dricus du Plessis to beat Khamzat Chimaev on UFC 319
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Strickland is a former training partner of Chimaev's and fought du Plessis for 10 rounds in their two title fights on UFC 297 and UFC 312 where Strickland lost both times.
If a different approach than Darren Till, who also against DDP moisture and trained with Chimaev, Strickland predicts that Du Plessis will be the first man to beat Chimaev on UFC 319.
“They can struggle,” Strickland said about Chimaev in an interview with Helen Yee.
“Someone like me, I have trained these F-Al for years, I could usually be disruptions and they are struggling.
“So I just don't know if F— – Dricus can suspend him. But if he can, I think he wins, without a doubt.
“I sparkled the F— – Chechen,” Strickland continued. “Without a doubt, I think Dricus wins. It's just going down – you will stop [takedown] And take it against him?
“That is possible. It's not difficult,” Strickland said about stopping Chimaev's struggling.
Michael Bisping says that five rounds are a problem for Khamzat Chimaev
So great from a Finisher as Chimaev is, another former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping thinks that the undefeated wrestler might encounter problems with Dricus du Plessis.
Chimaev is planned for five rounds at UFC 319 and has never seen the championship rounds before. Chimaev's only got twice in the distance in his career against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.
“He got a little tired,” Bisping said about Chimaev's three-round fights with Burns and Usman.
“He was lucky to make that decision against Kamaru Usman.
“I'm not talking about S – about Khamzat Chimaev. I think he is phenomenal, but I think he has some problems with five rounds against Drus du Plessis.
“We have never seen him go five rounds,” Bisping continued.
“But we do know that the man is a finisher,” said Bisping about Chimaev.
“He is a phenomenon. He is a freak of nature. He is a big wrestler.
“He may not have the praises of a BO -Nickal, but Holy S -, when it comes to being effective, Khamzat Chimaev is above that. He is one of the best finishers we now have in mixed fights.”