Dricus du Plessis | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Michael Bisping knows what it means to be UFC middleweight champion, and he can’t believe the odds are against Dricus du Plessis in his upcoming title defense.

Du Plessis goes for his third defense of the middleweight belt when he fights the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago. Despite du Plessis’ incredible run of form having defeated Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland in his recent fights, he is currently installed as a +150 underdog according to FanDuel. Chimaev is a near 2-to-1 favorite at -194.

On his YouTube channel, Bisping questioned the line, pointing to du Plessis’ performances in high stakes fights, and Chimaev’s tendency to slow down dramatically as his fights progress.

“The fact that they’ve got Dricus du Plessis as the underdog is insane,” Bisping said. “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. The way that Khamzat Chimaev fights is the way that he fights. He ain’t going to change. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Chimaev is yet to lose in 14 pro bouts, despite competitive calls against Burns and Usman, the latter a former welterweight champion. He has become famous for his explosive finishes (as well as his long stretches of inactivity), with five of his eight UFC fights ending in the opening round.

Bisping acknowledges that Chimaev’s achievements are impressive, but also argues a loss earlier in Chimaev’s career might have benefited him in the long run.

“When you lose fights, you say, ‘Well, I never really lost. It was a chance to learn,’” Bisping said. “And that is true. When you do lose, you address some things. You address your preparation. You address your weight cut. You address your diet. You address all kinds of shit that you might have been doing wrong and one of those things might be that I address the fact that I don’t pace myself. As I said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“He’s going to go full steam ahead. Khamzat Chimaev is going to go right at him. 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’ going to take over and that man is a big, powerful son of a bitch and he is a finisher as well.”

TOP STORIES

Pound-for-Pound. Jack Della Maddalena topples Belal Muhammad, and Alexander Volkanovski is champion again? Australia is back in the building!

Beef. Yes, Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev are still trading insults despite the fact they’re not fighting each other anytime soon.

Recovery. Deiveson Figueiredo avoided a major injury and the need for surgery after a tough loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC Des moines.

Respect. Anatoly Malykhin has fought Reinier de Ridder twice and he likes his former ONE Championship rival’s chances of beating Robert Whittaker.

Comeback. Gilbert Burns has lost three straight, but thinks it will be pure cinema when he upsets Michael Morales this Saturday at UFC Vegas 106 to stay in title contention.

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

This latest Steve Aoki collab is kinda nuts.

Robert Whittaker chops it up with Submission Radio.

Gilbert Burns hits up the Pound-for-Pound podcast ahead of a huge fight.

Why not rewatch this one?

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

And so ends the reign of Ankalaev.

Future fight.

Patrice Evra training with Reug Reug, the greatest athlete he’s ever been around, I’m sure.

I vote yes to this proposal.

I’ve done it.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ricky Simon (21-6) vs. Charles Jourdain (16-8-1); UFC Atlanta, June 14

Sergio Pettis (23-7) vs. Raufeon Stots (21-2); PFL 7, June 27

FINAL THOUGHTS

Please, please, please, Khamzat Chimaev, make it to fight night. We, as a community, need this one.

EXIT POLL

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