UFC legend shares major first round concern for Dricus du Plessis ahead of UFC 319 battle with Khamzat Chimaev

MMA legend and renowned analyst Chael Sonnen recently shared his thoughts on the main event of UFC 319 in August. In his third title defense, UFC middlweight champion Dricus du Plessis will take on perhaps his toughest challenge yet, divisional boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev. According to popular betting sites, du Plessis will be coming in as a +160 underdog while Chimaev is listed as a -185 favorite.

However, the champion has proven time and time again that he can get the job done against heavy favorites, namely former champions Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. To Sonnen, 'Stillknocks' will most likely beat 'Borz' and it all depends on how the first round goes.

In an Instagram clip, Sonnen said:

"How is he [du Plessis] going to beat him [Chimaev]? Because I am not fully confident that Chimaev can take him down at will. I'm not fully confident he can keep him there. We're going to know in the very first round. If Dricus gets taken down in the first round, things are going to unravel very quickly. But if he can defend the takedown for the entire first five minutes, it's only going to get easier to stay on your feet after that. It's an exciting match."

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Check out Chael Sonnen's UFC 319 analysis below:

The MMA Guru echoes Chael Sonnen's UFC 319 prediction, sees possible flaw in Khamzat Chimaev's grappling

Just like Chael Sonnen, popular MMA influencer, The MMA Guru sees a possible hole in Khamzat Chimaev's game that Dricus du Plessis can exploit.

The Chechen-born fighter has a penchant for taking his opponents down early and keeping them there till the finish. To The MMA Guru, if 'Stillknocks' finds a way to stop Chimaev from getting a dominant position - even if he gets taken down - he might walk out of UFC 319 with the belt.

In a podcast episode with Demetrious Johnson, the MMA Guru explained that even if you get taken down, you can choose which position you land, saying:

"But you can decide, 'Am I going to land with Chimaev on my back or am I going to land in guard? Am I going to land on bottom with full guard?' How does Chimaev work from full guard? [Gilbert] Burns put him in guard on bottom position and Chimaev kind of didn't want it. 'Oh, I don't like this. I ain't got my body lock. I ain't able to just drag him around and get the back. Some fighters that are grapplers like Chimaev have a dominant position on nothing."

Check out The MMA Guru talk about the UFC 319 main event below (1:09:30):

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi