Khamzat Chimaev has the backing of one former UFC title challenger as he aims to become champion at UFC 319 on August 16.
Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is set to challenge Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) for the middleweight title in the main event later this month in Chicago. Throughout his UFC career, “Borz” has developed a reputation for fast starts—often overwhelming opponents and securing early stoppages.
However, in the few instances where he’s been forced to fight beyond the first round—most notably against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman—the Chechen has shown signs of fatigue, struggling to manage his output effectively.
As UFC 319 approaches, the prevailing belief is that if Du Plessis can survive the opening round, he’ll likely take control of the fight and successfully defend his title.
But Chael Sonnen—who nearly captured the UFC middleweight belt in his 2010 bout with Anderson Silva—isn’t entirely convinced that will be the case.
"Chimaev has got to get him down," Sonnen told MMA Junkie this week. "He can't just go fight him anywhere. Then there's a big question around Chimaev's conditioning. I don't know if that's fair. We've seen Chimaev get exhausted. Fedor used to get exhausted, but he never stopped. It never slowed him down. And it's the same thing with Chimaev.
"I don't think it's fair to question his conditioning. I think he's got a bunch of energy and he uses it all, which is what he's supposed to do. That's going to get tested and we are going to find out if that's accurate. I am also giving Dricus a lot better of a look than I was when Chimaev beat Whittaker and the fight got announced."
Du Plessis became the 185-pound champion when he defeated Sean Strickland in January of last year. After successfully defending his title against former champion Israel Adesanya and then defeating Strickland again in a rematch, the South African is cementing his legacy as a true champion.
With contenders quickly rising through the ranks, the middleweight division is looking stronger than it has in years. Chael Sonnen believes this current generation of middleweights might be the best the UFC has ever seen.
"As the king of middleweights – and I will tell you when I had my run I had no equal, I was not losing fights, I was not losing rounds, I was not losing moments of fights – but I will tell you I didn't have anything as difficult as it is today," Sonnen said. "We had one or two guys that, at that time, could be top-five guys now. Maybe three guys that fit into the top 10. I have never seen 185 so hard. I don't know who the best guy is.
"I always assumed it was Chimaev because that's what we were told every day. But all of a sudden this guy named Dricus steps forward. ... It is murderer's row. One thing I will accurately tell you about middleweight: Whoever comes out of this fight doesn't just leave with the championship; they need to be moved in the pound-for-pound rankings. If you're the champion of 185, and it's deeper than it's ever been, that needs to be considered – and I don't think it will be. I don't think people are realizing this weight class has never been this difficult."
