After training with both Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, Luke Rockhold shared some insight on the UFC 319 headliner.
Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) will look to notch his third title defense when he takes on Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold grappled with Chimaev before, and hit the mats with Du Plessis as well.
“He’s a f*cking beast,” Rockhold told Submission Radio of Chimaev. “He’s a wrestler, he’s a grappler, he’s going to get relentless pressure. He’s going to start fast and hard. Can Dricus take that the first two rounds? That’s what life’s about for his opponents. Can he withstand the barrage? Because he’s going to bring it.”
Many pundits and fighters thinks if Du Plessis can weather an early storm, it’ll go downhill for Chimaev – and Rockhold agrees.
“I don’t like those opportunities for him,” Rockhold said of Chimaev. “I’ve trained with DDP a lot. He’s tough. He ain’t going to go away. You’ve got to dominate him from start to finish, or you’ve got to finish him early. I just don’t see how Khamzat’s going to keep that pressure. His intensity, you can only keep that for so long.
“That’s not five-round material. DDP is tough. He’s tough as f*cking hell. People don’t give him a lot of credit. He’s just awkward, he’s got weird timing and rhythm and he’s good. He mixes it up. He’s very confident. He’s got good grappling, decent wrestling and some funky-ass striking, but it f*cking works.”
