- News
- combat-sports
- Dricus Du Plessis gives Khamzat Chimaev no chance to beat Alex Pereira, doubts they fight
Dricus Du Plessis gives Khamzat Chimaev no chance to beat Alex Pereira, doubts they fight
Look, let's just get this out there—Dricus Du Plessis isn't buying what Khamzat Chimaev is selling, not even a little bit. And honestly, after what went down at UFC 319, you'd think he might give the guy some credit, right? Wrong.Picture this: Du Plessis, a legit beast in his own right with a 23-3 record, got taken down a dozen times and controlled for over 21 minutes in what can only be described as a masterclass in wrestling dominance from Chimaev. That's not just a loss; that's a full-on, highlight-reel shellacking.So when Chimaev, still sitting pretty at a perfect 15-0, immediately starts calling out Alex Pereira after 'Poatan' absolutely vaporized Magomed Ankalaev in a mere 80 seconds to reclaim the light heavyweight strap at UFC 320, you'd expect the MMA world to collectively nod in agreement. But Du Plessis? He's over here on Fight Forecast basically laughing it off, and his reasoning is as cold as it is compelling.'He's always had crazy callouts,' Du Plessis said of Chimaev, with the kind of weary tone you use when your friend suggests another dubious life plan. But then he drops the hammer: 'Khamzat, there's no way he beats Pereira.I think Pereira right now is one of the greatest to ever do it in this sport or in any combat sport. ' Let that sink in.This isn't just some hot take from the sidelines; this is a man who felt Chimaev's suffocating pressure firsthand, who knows exactly what it's like to be in that cage with him, and he's still putting his chips on the Brazilian knockout artist. And he makes a solid point about the size difference, too—Pereira looked massive against Ankalaev, a legit light heavyweight contender, which makes you wonder how Chimaev, who has bounced between welterweight and middleweight, would even begin to handle that kind of physical disparity.Du Plessis dismisses the whole idea as 'all hype,' adding, 'I don't think there's any realistic chance that ever happens. ' It's a brutal assessment, but it's not coming from a place of ignorance.Remember, Du Plessis accurately called Pereira's redemption arc in the Ankalaev rematch after Pereira had definitively lost their first scrap at UFC 313. He saw the adjustments coming a mile away.'Alex knows what to do now,' Du Plessis explained. 'Obviously, he has a great team, so they worked on exactly that.You could just see it from the get go, he was waiting for the kill because he knew as soon as he lets Ankalaev put that pressure on him, he's going to be able to put him against the fence again. It couldn't have gone any better for him.' This is the kind of fight IQ we're dealing with here. So when a guy like Du Plessis, who has been in the trenches with one of the most feared fighters on the planet, tells you that a proposed superfight is a mismatch, maybe we should all just lean back and listen.It's like that moment in the NBA when a veteran player watches a hyped-up rookie and just shakes his head, knowing the difference between viral potential and championship mettle. Chimaev might talk a big game—and his undefeated record backs up a lot of that talk—but in the cold, hard calculus of fight math, Du Plessis is betting the house on Pereira, and honestly, it's getting harder and harder to argue with him.
It’s quiet here...Start the conversation by leaving the first comment.