UFC middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis is set to run back to his incredible fight with Sean Strickland next month. Their UFC 312 rematch, of course, has been a long time coming. After all, even Dana White thought that Strickland should have won their incredibly close and action-packed UFC 297 clash, which by itself is enough to warrant a rematch.

But, at the moment, there are not many takers for Du Plessis-Strickland 2. No. Instead, the fight the MMA world desperately wants to see is Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev, who is back to setting the UFC world on fire. And while ‘Borz’ may have absolutely demolished Robert Whittaker in the very first round at their UFC 308 clash, ‘DDP’ feels that he is a totally different animal from anyone else.

“Absolutely. I mean I would love that fight. And you like said, it’s all about Strickland right now. But the Khamzat fight is a fight I want. And the man’s never been beaten. He’s beaten Robert Whittaker in spectacular fashion. Absolutely. I think Khamzat is an incredible fighter, I really do. I just know for a fact that, well, it’s different [with me],” Du Plessis told Jim Rome in a recent interview.

This is almost definitely true since Du Plessis and his so-bad-its-good fighting style is literally one of a kind. In addition, the middleweight champ felt that his relatively rapid rise and seemingly unstoppable momentum in the UFC speaks for itself, while Chimaev has been remarkably inconsistent with fights.

“You have never fought somebody like me. There’s a reason I am where I am. There’s a reason you were in the UFC before me and everybody thought you were this boogieman. I’ve had that title for a year, I’ve defended it twice. Where are you? And at the end of the day, it’s all about the talk. I think Khamzat is an incredible fighter, I know he’s an incredible fighter. But underestimating me will be the biggest mistake of his life,” he added. Du Plessis’ comments do seem to have a lot of merit, especially because of the intriguing stylistic matchup he has with the undefeated middleweight star.

Why Dricus Du Plessis is likely to be Khamzat Chimaev’s hardest challenge in the division

There are very good reasons, and the Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev clash is so mouth-watering for many. ‘Borz,’ of course, is an excellent grappler, and it is hard to see even the likes of Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland (both strikers) giving the Chechnya native much trouble.

However, that is very far from the case for DDP. After all, the South African champ is also a pretty good grappler. Chimaev, like all of Du Plessis’ opponents, will have a very hard time figuring him out, especially on the feet. Of course, one of the most important aspects of Chimaev’s game that has made him nearly unstoppable is ‘Borz’s legendary strength.

But even that is likely not going to be a big advantage over the champ. After all, Du Plessis is strong as an ox himself, and according to Daniel Cormier, actually walks around at an eye-watering around 220 pounds when not cutting weight. As the South African pointed out, there is a reason he became a champion in a pretty short time- he’s just that good and that dangerous, as Chimaev will likely find out the hard way if and when they fight. What do you think about Dricus Du Plessis’ warning for Khamzat Chimaev?

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