“He’ll Keep Coming at You…” Robert Whittaker Gives Honest Take on Dricus Du Plessis vs. ‘Tricky’ Khamzat Chimaev

Common rival Robert Whittaker gives his take on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis PPV title fight at UFC 319.

“He’ll Keep Coming at You…” Robert Whittaker Gives Honest Take on Dricus Du Plessis vs. ‘Tricky’ Khamzat Chimaev

Robert Whittaker weighs in on Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Source: X/IMAGO)

Perennial UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker had his dreams of another title reign last October in the most brutal manner. The Aussie man knows firsthand what it is to face the relentless Khamzat Chimaev after the UFC 308 PPV card. Hence, ‘Reaper’ recently weighed in on how a stylistic matchup against champ Dricus Du Plessis would go.

UFC 319 PPV main event at United Center in Chicago will host the DDP vs. ‘Borz’ title fight. It’s not just a banger PPV title fight that fans have clamored for; it’s a stylistic contrast. Chimaev touts immense pace with explosive takedown entries and pressures. Meanwhile, DDP boasts a similarly explosive head-first striking style. On the MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker recently weighed in on which way it would go.

How do you stop Chimaev’s takedowns? I don’t think Dricus will stop Chimaev’s takedowns. Trust me, it kept me up at night. There’s a way, but it’s tricky…I believe he will get Dricus down, he’ll control him for a round, but if he can’t put him away, what does he look like coming up in round 2, round 3? Dricus has got a gas tank. If you don’t put him away, he’ll keep fighting. He’ll keep coming at you with his bombs and punches and his kicks.

Robert Whittaker himself could not get him off, and the Chechen Borz capitalized on it en route to a first-round submission (face-crack; Round 1, 3:34) finish. There are often doubts that Khamzat Chimaev gasses out in later frames, but one frame is all he has usually needed, except when it was Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.

Additionally, he is one of the only fighters not easily taken down himself in active competition. Dricus Du Plessis, whom Whittaker met and lost to during the UFC 290 PPV card, also touts quite the gas tank. Hence, the Aussie fighter felt that if the champ could get past the sticky TD attempts, he can get it done. However, there are deterrents to this matchup as a whole.

Top MMA analyst found ‘Easter Eggs’ in not-surprising Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev PPV announcement

Chael Sonnen has been a big proponent of Khamzat Chimaev getting his dues, given he has had a title shot promise for thrice now. Sonnen recently felt surprised that a PPV title scrapper wasn’t booked against Dricus Du Plessis until UFC 319 PPV, given this was the way to go. He noted how Borz rode on a wave of Emirati, rather global fanfare due to his style. It is one that the MMA community hasn’t quite seen since Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey.

Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev at risk with blatant inclusion of backup?
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev at risk with blatant inclusion of backup? (Source: X)

Hence, Sonnen was happy when the announcement came to be. Du Plessis himself said after his UFC 312 PPV title defense, he wanted this matchup. On a pure skills level, this was surely the way to go. However, MMA’s Bad Guy and bold first thinker Sonnen is now reserving his take on the matter. On a recent ‘Good Guy / Bad Guy’ Podcast episode, he said that Dana White’s decision to have a backup fighter for only this one matchup was a clear hint.

Not to mention, we got a couple of Easter eggs with this fight. Like, one little gem that they put down is that this is going to go down in Chicago. Now, we’ve all been told that Khamzat Chimaev has a hard time getting around that he can’t travel anywhere besides Fight Island. So we find out in Chicago, but then we also find out that of all the fights Dana announced, this is the only one he put a backup fighter in place for!

Chimaev has had a long laundry list of withdrawals, sickness, and camp problems over the years. He failed his ballot count as recently as the UFC on ABC 6 headliner vs. Robert Whittaker, pushing it to last October. Hence, it’s not entirely out of the blue to consider a backup option for this one.

Whether or not this title fight marks another case of Chimaev historically pulling out remains tomorrow’s bridge to burn. But for now, there’s options. To top it off, even Du Plessis recently mocked that he is prepping for No.1—ranked backup fighter Nassourdine Imavov, given the unreliable option.

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