Michael Page promises to never pick against Dricus Du Plessis again if he proves him wrong at UFC 319.
Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) defends his UFC middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the Aug. 16 main event from United Center in Chicago (ESPN+, ESPN, pay-per-view).
Although Chimaev steamrolled Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission in his most recent outing at UFC 308, Page actually likes what he saw out of Chimaev. He doesn’t share the same type of concerns about his cardio like the majority of pundits and fighters do.
“Interestingly, when he fought Whittaker – because again, he has been, I call it like a Crash Bandicoot – like, he goes in there and he’s going crazy immediately,” Page told MMA Junkie of Chimaev. “But it was the first time – although it didn’t last too long, it was the first time I saw him a little bit more composed, and not just trying to go crazy immediately. He took his time even to find the takedown. He was kind of a little bit more chilled, and slowly worked his way to the takedown, where normally, he just comes out and tries to dive at you. It’s hard for anybody to keep such a high pace. If he is that same person, I reckon he can go the distance.
“Everyone’s saying if he doesn’t take him out in the first, I reckon if he fights like that, he can go the whole five rounds, and it still be a somewhat even fight – even when he starts to get a little bit more tired. You can see Du Plessis is a guy that beats you in the final laps and the final rounds of fights. He’s a hard person to do anything with. He seems very awkward, he takes shots well, it’s hard to keep him on the floor, he takes you down. He’s a bit scrappy, but he just stays in it. He’s got the energy to still be strong in his punches and kicks as well as his grappling from Round 1 to Round 5. It’s best for him to get him out early, but that’s a difficult ask. I actually feel like he should just compose himself and try to win rounds first, then look to see if he can finish him later.”
Page (23-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who competes on the same card against former title challenger Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC), is predicting Du Plessis to lose his title – but perhaps for the final time.
“I think Khamzat has the ability to beat him, but I literally keep saying this: I think after this fight, I’m never betting against Du Plessis again because I keep doing it, but this guy keeps figuring out a way to win,” Page said. “His style to me just seems so messy, but you have to respect him because regardless of what he looks like, he knows how to win. I’m going to go with Khamzat, but if (Du Plessis) wins this fight, yeah, never again. If anybody asks me, I’m saying Du Plessis beats everybody.”
