Khamzat Chimaev is the odds-on betting favorite to beat Dricus Du Plessis when they collide for the South African’s middleweight strap atop the UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) event this August in Chicago, despite the fact that “Borz” has the gas tank of a Briggs & Stratton push mower.
Check out the opening odds and betting lines here.
“The fact that they’ve got Dricus du Plessis as the underdog is insane,” former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, said on YouTube. “The man can wrestle, he’s got great jiu-jitsu, he’s big for the weight class, and more importantly, he has a gas tank. He has had no problems going five rounds. The two times Khamzat went to a decision was when he couldn’t get the finish in the first or second round. That’s when Gilbert Burns started to take over. That’s when Kamaru Usman had a lot of success and settled the score and it almost came out as a draw. And now it’s not three rounds, it’s five rounds.”
Chimaev, 31, has never been past the third round in his MMA career.
“Khamzat Chimaev is going to go right at him,” Bisping continued. “He ain’t going to f*ck about, he’s going to swing for the fences, he’s going to pick him up, he’s going to try and slam him down. He’s going to go berserk. He’s going to go mental and that’s what we love about him. That’s why we can’t wait to see this fight. But if he doesn’t get him out of there in the first round or the second round and he’s starting to gas come Round 3, and Round 4 and Round 5 he is looking to be anywhere else but in the middle of the Octagon in the United Center, Dricus du Plessis is going to take over and that man is a big, powerful son of a b*tch and he is a finisher as well.”
Du Plessis (23-2) has knocked out Robert Whittaker, submitted Israel Adesanya, and turned away Sean Strickland in back-to-back title fights. As for Chimaev (14-0), he’s been able to rack up a perfect 14-0 record with victories over Kamaru Usman and the aforementioned Whittaker, among others.
“Stillknocks” is currently the +160 underdog against -185 for Chimaev.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
