DDP is the underdog going into the fight and I just don’t get it at all.
In his last 5, DDP has stopped Brunson, Whittaker and Adesanya, gone to a close decision with Stickland then beaten the shit out of him in a return.
In his last 4, Chimaev has subbed Holland and an already-injured Whittaker and gone life-and-death with a former 155er who got completely out classed by Usman and with Usman himself who is a fading former 170er with shot knees coming in on 9 days notice. I thought Usman beat him.
After the first round, Chimaev seems to take his foot off the gas. He only really seems to be dangerous in the first 5 mins. Both Burns and Usman had considerable success against him striking and they are nothing compared to DDP. People talk about Chimaev being the next big thing but the only high-level opponent he has looked good against was an injured Robert Whittaker.
Another thing is that Chimaev backs up in a straight line with his head up when his opponent comes at him and DDP is the king of rushing your opponent.
The other thing I think works heavily against Chimaev is DDP is one of these guys who works really well even when tired. Guys that are naturally strong and naturally good punchers tend to deal with exhaustion better. Chimaev doesn’t appear to be a good striker. Has has to make his wrestling count or he is going to tire from it and he forced into a standup match with a guy with superior striking and who naturally deals with fatigue better.
I don’t think DDP is going to blow him out of the water. I suspect he is going to have to fight off a hellish attack for a round of two before it becoming more of a stand up fight.
You can’t deny the one and done power though … and that was after a brutal weight cut. Now he is up a division. I think DDP wins but Khamzat can definitely knock you out.
