Outside Source
Sportsbooks have already chosen a favorite for Dricus Du Plessis’ upcoming title defense against Khamzat Chimaev.
Du Plessis (23-2) puts his middleweight belt on the line against Chimaev (14-0) in the main event at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 at the United Center in Chicago. Chimaev has opened as a moderate -190 favorite against the champ, who stands +150 on the comeback. The odds are a reflection of how Chimaev is perceived, as he gets a title shot just two fights after permanently moving up to middleweight.
Those two wins went a long way in determining the top contender status for the man born in Chechnya. While he had shifted up and down in weight, he made things official in the 185-pound division by taking on an inflated ex-welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Outworking “The Nigerian Nightmare” for the good part of three rounds, he went on to crush the jaw of Robert Whittaker with a face crank to cement his status as an elite 185er. “Borz” has finished six of his eight UFC wins so far, laying waste the likes of Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Jingliang Li.
Meanwhile, Du Plessis is unbeaten since 2019, riding an 11-fight winning streak which includes nine UFC outings. “Stillknocks” claimed the title with a close split decision against Sean Strickland last year and defended it by becoming the first combatant to ever submit Israel Adesanya in professional MMA competition. The South African then put any concerns about his title reign to bed by beating Strickland in their rematch conclusively with two scores of 50-45 in his favor this February.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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