Chael Sonnen names Khamzat Chimaev's "biggest threat" in the UFC middleweight division: "He's a tremendous jiu-jitsu player"

Chael Sonnen pointed out one fighter that could offer stiff resistance to newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The Chechen-born fighter defeated Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319 to capture the title.

Notably, du Plessis' defensive grappling was no match to Chimaev's relentless wrestling attacks. Sonnen feels that Reinier de Ridder is the only middleweight that could challenge Chimaev in that aspect of the sport.

During a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Sonnen said:

"The one that could offer the biggest threat from what we've seen in the past, and that's going to be de Ridder. One thing that Chimaev, and one of the reasons his fight with Gilbert Burns was so fun and so unusual, is he respected Gilbert's ground game so much that he wasn't in a huge hurry to get him there like he was Saturday against Dricus. I only offer you that de Ridder's ground game is respected in the same regard. He's a tremendous jiu-jitsu player, but specifically from the bottom. So, I like RDR right now." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below:

For context, Chimaev's toughest fight in the UFC was against welterweight contender and multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Gilbert Burns. The Brazilian fighter's submission and grappling threat forced Chimaev to primarily compete in the striking department, leveling the playing field.

De Ridder has also shown respectable defensive and offensive grappling, primarily in his fight against Bo Nickal.

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Chael Sonnen on other middlewight contenders' chances against Khamzat Chimaev

Caio Borralho, Nassourdine Imavov and Anthony Hernandez are seen as the potential next challengers to Khamzat Chimaev in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Bo Nickal's wrestling has been considered comparable to that of Chimaev in the past.

In the aforementioned episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Chael Sonnen expressed his opinion on their chances against Chimaev, stating:

"I love the idea of Caio (Borralho) getting that opportunity. I don't want to continue down my usual road of dismissing [Nassourdine] Imavov. When Imavov got over on Izzy, he got a brand new look from me. But if you made me just throw one name at you, I mean, listen, not for nothing, I really want to see him go with Bo Nickal. That's just personally. I understand that we are not there. I like that idea." [H/t: MMA Junkie]