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Jared Cannonier Says It’s Impossible To Pick Between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev

Jared Cannonier Says It's Impossible To Pick Between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev Jared Cannonier has no idea who wins between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, but he’ll definitely tune in…

Jared Cannonier has no idea who wins between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, but he’ll definitely tune in to find out.

Following Du Plessis’ dominant unanimous decision victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 312, all signs point to ‘DDP’ putting his middleweight gold on the line against the undefeated Chechen monster sometime in 2025.

So far, practically everyone inside the MMA bubble has picked a side, but Cannonier just can’t bring himself to choose one over the other.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that I—I just can’t not pick fights, you know what I mean? It’s just—it’s nothing—it’s not something that I ever liked doing,” Cannonier told Helen Yee ahead of his return to the Octagon. “Both of those guys have tools, and I’m sure they’re both going to employ their tools to the best of their ability. The question is, who’s going to be the one to prevail? I don’t know.”

Initially, Chimaev opened as a 2-to-1 favorite to come out on top in a potential clash with Du Plessis. However, those odds have shifted significantly in just a matter of days with ‘DDP’ now sitting on many sportsbooks as a slight +150 underdog.

Jared Cannonier meets ‘Robocop’ in middleweight headliner inside the APEX

As for Jared Cannonier, the ‘Killa Gorilla’ has bigger things to focus on. Like getting back into the win column when he steps back inside the Octagon this Saturday night (Feb. 15). After coming up short in his last two outings against Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho, Cannonier will test his mettle against Brazilian knockout artist Gregory Rodrigues inside The APEX.

‘Robocop’ rides into his first Fight Night headliner on a three-fight win streak, including back-to-back KOs against Denis Tiuliulin and Brad Tavares. In July, he picked up his seventh career win under the UFC banner via a unanimous decision W over Christian Leroy Duncan.

As it stands, Rodrigues is not ranked in the middleweight division, but a win over Cannonier would likely thrust him into the division’s top 10 and make him an instant title contender.

Gregory Rodrigues Hero Celebration UFC 294

After Training with ‘Crazy Strong’ Dricus Du Plessis, UFC Veteran Says Khamzat Chimaev Likely to Lose Title Match

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith thinks Dricus Du Plessis has the strength and the stamina necessary to hand…

Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith thinks Dricus Du Plessis has the strength and the stamina necessary to hand Khamzat Chimaev his first career loss.

Du Plessis scored his second successful title defense at UFC 312, outworking Sean Strickland for five rounds en route to a dominant unanimous decision victory.

But even before the scorecards were read, fighters and fans alike were already debating who would come out on top between ‘DDP’ and the undefeated Chechen monster.

Smith favors du Plessis in ‘super competitive’ fight with khamzat chimaev

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out, but after Du Plessis’ solid showing in Sydney, ‘Lionheart’ finds himself favoring the South African star to come out on top in their inevitable clash.

“He looks to be crazy strong, just by the reactions of the people that he’s fighting—like how they react when he grabs a hold of them,” Smith said of Du Plessis during an appearance on Submission Radio. “You know, the guy’s the champion. He’s a champion, and he’s the rightful one. He seems to have a stranglehold on that title. He’s got a gas tank—that was another criticism he had very early in his career, that he seemed to gas later on in some of these fights.

“But he just went five hard rounds at a high pace with Sean Strickland, and that’s not an easy task. I’ve tried to do it myself in the gym—it’s hard to do. He’s got all the tools and all the weapons, and I think that’s a super competitive fight. But I do find myself probably favoring Du Plessis a little bit. And that’s a crazy statement if you would have looked back a year ago.”

Du Plessis and Chimaev are a combined 17-0 under the UFC banner. Along the way, ‘Borz’ has bested some big names, including Gilbert Burns and ex-titleholders Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker while ‘DDP’ has beaten both Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland during his middleweight title reign.

“Change After Round 1” – UFC Insider Questions Khamzat Chimaev’s Stamina Against Dricus Du Plessis

Will Khamzat Chimaev have the stamina to go toe-to-toe with middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis? One UFC Hall of…

Will Khamzat Chimaev have the stamina to go toe-to-toe with middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis?

One UFC Hall of Famer doesn’t seem to think so.

With Du Plessis’ dominant decision victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 312, the stage has been set for a showdown between ‘DDP’ and the undefeated Chechen monster. When and where their inevitable clash takes place remains to be seen, but the oddsmakers are already favoring ‘Borz’ to come out on top.

Chimaev opened as a -200 favorite on multiple sports-betting apps after UFC 312. However, former 185-pound titleholder Michael Bisping seems to think that might be a mistake.

“He wants Khamzat,” Bisping said on his Believe You Me podcast. “He wants the boogeyman. He wants the guy that just destroyed Robert Whittaker. And I tell you what, if I’m Khamzat, I wouldn’t be quite so sure. I’m not saying that Khamzat isn’t incredible, but against Usman and against Gilbert Burns, he wasn’t able to have his way.

And it’s a broken record at this point, but you get him outside of the first round, yeah, and things start to change. And Dricus is as big, as strong, and as resilient as they come. I did an interview with him on Tuesday—he was 215 on the Tuesday before the weight cut.”

Since the odds for Du Plessis vs. Chimaev were first released, the gap has already narrowed on multiple sportsbooks with ‘DDP’ moving to a much more reasonable +160 underdog. Of course, those odds will likely continue to shift once the fight is officially announced and we have an idea of when and where the two will clash in the cage.

Can Du Plessis drag Khamzat Chimaev into deep waters in eventual UFC title tilt?

Thus far, Du Plessis is a perfect 9-0 under the UFC banner with two of his last three fights going a full five rounds — a distance Chimaev has never once gone in his mixed martial arts career. In fact, ‘Borz’ has only gone 15 minutes twice through 14 total fights. Those instances came against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman. And in both cases, Chimaev noticeably began to fade in the latter half of the fight.

If Du Plessis can survive long enough to drag Chimaev into the championship rounds, there’s a good chance it’ll be #AndStill instead of #AndNew.

MMA Great Demetrious Johnson: On the Feet, Dricus Du Plessis Can Outstrike Khamzat Chimaev

Demetrious Johnson thinks if Dricus Du Plessis can keep his fight with Khamzat Chimaev on the feet, he’ll likely…

Demetrious Johnson thinks if Dricus Du Plessis can keep his fight with Khamzat Chimaev on the feet, he’ll likely leave with his middleweight gold intact.

DDP’ secured his second successful title defense in Sydney, Australia, scoring a dominant decision victory over Sean Strickland. And while much of Du Plessis’ post-fight comments were focused on a future fight with light heavyweight king Alex Pereira, all signs currently point to a highly anticipated clash with the undefeated Chechen monster being next for the South African star.

Breaking down a potential showdown between Du Plessis and Chimaev, flyweight great Demetrious Johnson believes ‘DDP’ can outstrike Chimaev on the feet. It’s just a matter of fending off the wrestle-heavy attack of ‘Borz’ and forcing him to stand and trade.

“And it’s gonna be a sick fight because we know what Khamzat’s going to do,” Johnson said during an interview with The MMA Guru. “You know he’s going to go out there—he’s going to look to wrestle, right? Yeah, he does a good job. I don’t want to say he’s just posing on the feet, but when he fought Kamaru Usman, when he fought Robert Whittaker—everybody he’s fought, besides Gilbert Burns, and him went toe-to-toe on the feet.

“But I think Khamzat loves the grappling, and we’re going to see if DDP can use, you know, his clumsy style and outwrestle Khamzat. Because I think if it does stay on the feet, DDP can outstrike him. Yeah, Khamzat does have a rhythm to him, but he’s not very—you know, like bah bah bah—he doesn’t really throw a lot of combinations.”

Can Du Plessis hang with ‘Borz’ on the mat?

While Du Plessis is not necessarily known for his ground game, ‘Stillknocks’ have proven himself more than capable of taking fighters down and fending off opposing wrestlers. Through his nine fights inside the Octagon, ‘DDP’ has a takedown average of 2.55 per 15 minutes. He also lands and defends 50% of all takedowns initiated by or against him.

Strickland landed six takedowns against both Darren Till and Sean Strickland in their first meeting. He also put former two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya on the mat four times during their UFC 305 headliner before tapping out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the fourth round via a rear-naked choke.

On the flip side, Khamzat Chimaev averages 4.31 takedowns with a 46% accuracy. He has also never once been taken down inside the Octagon.

Henry Cejudo Backs ‘Greatest’ Dricus Du Plessis To Beat Khamzat Chimaev And Alex Pereira

Former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo has been so impressed with Dricus Du Plessis’s performance against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 that he went on to pick him against potential future opponents Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira. The UFC middleweight kingpin was as dominant as he could be in his second outing against Strickland, skyrocketing […]

The UFC middleweight kingpin was as dominant as he could be in his second outing against Strickland, skyrocketing his brand even further. The challenger left with a broken nose at UFC 312, and before that, DDP showcased his grappling prowess by becoming the first fighter to submit Israel Adesanya.

Now, fans are excited to see “Stillknocks” get tested against Chimaev and Pereira. While “”Borz” is coming off an impressive first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker, “Poatan” has looked invincible at light heavyweight.

In a recent episode of Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry, Cejudo heavily praised DDP for his cardio and explained why he could hand defeats to both Chimaev and Pereira:

“If you’re asking me now Kumaru, who is it if we do see a match between DDP and Alex Pereira. Even though I do believe that Pereira is going to beat Magomed Ankalaev, I’ll definitely put my money with DDP. I think DDP, stylistically, is a problem dude. And I know DDP is gonna go in there and f****g wrestle. And I think with the grappling, I think that could be very problematic, but there’s one thing that I will say is he will need to be careful because Alex Pereira does a really good job of cornering and there’s a lot of little sloppy things that DDP does but I think I put my strengths and his mixing of the fighting against a guy like Alex Pereira.”

While discussing a potential match-up with Chimaev, “Triple C” again picked the South African despite knowing that the Emirati fighter is on an iconic undefeated run. The latter’s ability to out grapple and finish elite fighters like Whittaker and Usman definitely makes him a threat to anyone at middleweight.

“I personally think he beats up Khamzat Chimaev. I don’t think it’s going to be easy to submit, I think DDP is scrambly and I think his conditioning, bro, I mean I want to put him up there. Even like this particularly, this last fight, you want to kind of, you know, maybe the top three, maybe greatest right now cardio in the UFC. Obviously, Merab is one and then you can go two three but whatever it is, he looked freaking good and he looked so good that fifth round where he was like hey, I was able to go another five more rounds. I mean this guy’s ready and this guy’s gonna be a problem for anybody at 185 lbs and I am excited to see this dude fight Khamzat and if he beats a guy like Khamzat Chimaev, I would love for him to go up and then fight the winner of Alex Pereira and Ankalaev.”

Ankalaev is the no.1 ranked UFC light heavyweight contender set to fight the champion at UFC 313 in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada on March 8, 2025. The outcome of this fight will naturally impact the futures of the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

UFC Analyst Hot Take: Dricus Du Plessis Holds the Keys to Beating Khamzat Chimaev

With Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev all but confirmed, analysts are already beginning to pick sides. Over the…

With Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev all but confirmed, analysts are already beginning to pick sides.

Over the weekend, ‘DDP’ secured his second successful defense of the UFC middleweight title, scoring a dominant decision victory over Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia.

Immediately after the win, Du Plessis called for a potential champion vs. champion showdown with light heavyweight king Alex Pereira. However, all signs point to ‘Stillknocks’ sticking around at 185 for at least one more fight to test his mettle against the undefeated Chechen monster.

During an appearance on Monday’s edition of The Ariel Helwani Show, former UFC fighter turned analyst Din Thomas offered his take on the highly anticipated title tilt, suggesting that Du Plessis’ ability to pace himself will be the difference-maker against Chimaev who’s always trying to sprint to the finish.

“Khamzat [Chimaev] is a sprinter… You can’t fight championship level fights for five rounds at the pace where he’s at his best,” Thomas said. “If he fights like that at his best, I think Dricus [du Plessis] is so durable and he’s so smart that he’ll be able to withstand that. Now they’re swimming in deep water and Khamzat can’t swim that deep… Pacing is a big factor.”

Chimaev opens as 2-to-1 favorite over dricus du plessis

Du Plessis’ last three fights have all been five-rounders with only one of them ending inside the distance. That being his UFC 305 defense against Israel Adesanya in which ‘DDP’ tapped out ‘The Last Stylebender’ at the 3:38 mark of the fourth round.

On the other hand, Chimaev has only gone a full three rounds twice in his mixed martial arts career, those being his fights against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman. And in both instances, ‘Borz’ began to noticeably fade in the second half of both of those fights.

Even so, the oddsmakers don’t seem to agree with Thomas’ assessment. SportsBetting.ag opened Du Plessis as the betting underdog, favoring Chimaev to come out on top 2-to-1. However, ‘DDP’ has already closed the gap with him now sitting as a slight +125 underdog against Chimaev who is a -145 favorite.