Although Sean Strickland is set to fight Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 312 in February 2025, that fight isn’t even being discussed much or really at all. Instead, what the whole MMA world seems to be interested in is a potential clash between ‘DDP’ and #3 ranked middleweight Khamzat Chimaev. And for obvious reasons!

After all, ‘Borz’ is much more popular than Strickland, having got the hype train around him back on track with the demolition job he did on Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. In addition, Chimaev’s everything-or-nothing, throw-the-kitchen-sink style of fighting is much more entertaining than ‘Tarzan’s Philly Shell, point-fighting style.

This is why the UFC world, including former champ Daniel Cormier, is already seriously discussing and predicting a possible Du Plessis-Chimaev clash. “If they book these guys today, I believe that Khamzat Chimaev will be the favorite. He will be the favorite on most scorecards if they put him and Dricus Du Plessis matched up right now, that is how good he’s looked in every,” Cormier was quoted as saying in a compilation by YouTube channel ‘MMA Global’.

Of course, Chimaev is undefeated and veritably dominated every opponent he has faced, except perhaps Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Armed with an excellent wrestling game, perhaps the best in the entire promotion, remarkable strength, and a killer instinct, it is no wonder ‘Borz’ is the favorite for Cormier. On the other hand, Du Plessis isn’t chopped liver either, and a case for him being the favorite deserves to be made.

Why could Dricus Du Plessis be a nightmare for Khamzat Chimaev?

The South African’s former opponent and Chimaev’s friend Darren Till perfectly described the head-scratching fighting style of DDP. “He’s so s**t that he’s so good. Like everything he does is wrong but he just wins fights,” Till said recently. After all, Du Plessis’ game is the furthest thing from being technically correct, but at the same time is also incredibly effective.

Fighting ‘DDP’ is like fighting a bunch of different people- an amateur kickboxer, a world-class kickboxer, a bad wrestler, an elite wrestler, and so on, with no idea which of those guys will make an appearance the next second. This makes him utterly unpredictable, a nightmare to game plan against, and is the reason he is so unreasonably effective. But, none of his shenanigans would work if it weren’t for his physical attributes. Du Plessis is incredibly strong, has stamina for days, and can take a punch. Chimaev will almost surely try to back him up and take him down straight away, as he has tried to do against all his opponents.

But since ‘DDP’ doesn’t back up, constantly going forward, and has the strength and wrestling defense to deal with Chimaev’s strength and takedown attempt, plus the fact that he is like no other fighter ‘Borz’ has fought, one wouldn’t be remiss in picking Du Plessis as the favorite. What do you think about ‘DC’ picking Khamzat Chimaev as the favorite in a possible Chimaev vs. Du Plessis fight?