Dricus Du Plessis: Sean Strickland 'a lot stronger' than Khamzat Chimaev

Dricus Du Plessis gave a surprising take when comparing Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev 's strength. Du Plessis defeated Strickland twice in title fights, but lost his middleweight belt to Chimaev at UFC 319. Now Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) makes his first title defense against Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 328 ( Paramount+ ) main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.

J. Having gone the distance with both fighters, Du Plessis (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) gave the physical strength advantage to Strickland – even though he was taken down 12 times by Chimaev and controlled for over 21 minutes. "The first round is going to tell us so much about this fight," Du Plessis said on Fight Forecast .

"I know Khamzat is going to get him down. I've taken Strickland down so many times, I know Khamzat is going to get him down, but to keep him there? That's going to be the big question.

Because Strickland's ability to get up, the technique he uses, the strength he has. He's a strong guy, a lot stronger than Khamzat on a physical level. I think he's going to surprise some people.