- Din Thomas shared his early Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight
- The MMA analyst broke down why “Borz” won’t be able to match DDP
Din Thomas predicted that Dricuss du Plessis outwork Khamzat Chimaev in a championship bout due to the difference in their skill levels.
Khamzat can’t fight five championship rounds
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Thomas said he is very sure about “Stillknocks” getting the better of “Borz” in their potential title fight. The way the MMA analyst sees it, Chimaev won’t be able to deal with the “championship-level” of overall skills that DDP possesses.
“Khamzat is a sprinter… You can’t fight championship level fights for 5 rounds at the pace where he’s at his best.
I think Dricus is so durable and he’s so smart that he’ll be able to withstand that. Now they’re swimming in deep water and Khamzat can’t swim that deep.”
Din… pic.twitter.com/8IGlfdcEYf
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 10, 2025
“I think Khamzat [Chimaev] is a sprinter… if you were to make fights one five-minute round, Khamzat beats anybody in the world, any weight class. But you can’t fight championship-level fights for five rounds at the pace where he’s at his best,” Din assessed.
“If he fights like that at his best, I think Dricus [du Plessis] is so durable and he’s so smart that he’ll be able to withstand that. Now they’re swimming in deep water and Khamzat can’t swim that deep,” he continued.
Cardio won’t help if skill set is low
Thomas also noted that even if Chimaev’s cardio is at its best, it wouldn’t help him as Du Plessis will dictate the pace of the fight. For Thomas, cardio only works if the fighter also has high-level skills and between the two, it is the reigning champ who is more skilled.
“I think that by the third round, Khamzat is like, ‘Alright, I don’t really know. This guy is not going away’… Let’s say he does pace himself a little better, Dricuss will just pour it on him,” Thomas added.
“So, I think that pacing is a big factor. We always talk about this cardio thing but cardio is really just being able to manage whatever pace you have based on the skill set you have that’s really what it comes down to like if you have a very limited skill set and you’re forced to be in situations that you’re not comfortable in you’re going to have bad cardio but when you have a very well-rounded skill set and you can pace yourself better you’re have good cardio so I mean that’s really what it comes down to,” he concluded.
@dricusduplessis 😈 pic.twitter.com/O3JYSx4URF
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) February 9, 2025
Du Plessis has already made it clear to everybody that he is taking on Chimaev next. After that, “Stillknocks” will move up to face Alex Pereria in a super fight.
