"He's a big, durable dude" - When Joe Rogan got honest about Dricus du Plessis' chances against Khamzat Chimaev in potential fight

Joe Rogan once addressed a potential middleweight fight between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. Rogan lauded both UFC stars' incredible MMA arsenals. Nevertheless, he highlighted one specific department wherein the difference in skill level could prove to be a game-changer.

Chimaev's most recent fight witnessed him score the biggest victory of his professional MMA career thus far. 'Borz' dominantly defeated former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in round one of their high-stakes showdown at UFC 308 in October 2024.

Prior to that, UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis notched his first title defense by submitting former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.

Speaking to ESPN MMA the following month, du Plessis, who's long been at loggerheads with Chimaev, affirmed his plans to fight and defeat 'Borz' en route to potential two-division championship status.

On episode #2220 of the Joe Rogan Experience, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan hosted fellow comedian Francis Foster and political commentator Konstantin Kisin.

Recounting Chimaev's dominant finish of a legend in Whittaker, Rogan underscored that it was an overwhelming win that saw 'Borz' simply charge in and maul the Australian.

When asked if he thought Chimaev facing du Plessis would be different, Rogan warned:

"He [du Plessis] can wrestle. He's got very good jiu-jitsu. He hits f**king hard, and he's a big, durable dude. But I don't know if he's going to be able to wrestle with that guy [Chimaev]. Like, I don't know, man. Khamzat's skill is so high level, it makes me wonder."

In addition to indicating that Chimaev's wrestling might be the game-changer against du Plessis, Rogan drew parallels between the Chechnya-born UAE.-based fighter's grappling dominance in MMA and the grappling greatness of Gordon Ryan in BJJ:

"Some guys, like, you see it in jiu-jitsu. There's some guys that look really good until they fight somebody who's really, really good, and then they get manhandled. You know, it's like, everybody looks good until they face Gordon Ryan. Like, Gordon Ryan can do that to anybody. Like, is Khamzat at that level? Well, it kind of appears that he is. It appears that he's, in terms of like, the grappling that he possesses, seems magnitudes greater than anybody else in his division."

Watch Rogan's assessment below (3:14:06):

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Joe Rogan to miss Dricus du Plessis' long-awaited rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312

The UFC 297 pay-per-view (PPV) transpired in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in January 2024. Its headlining match witnessed Dricus du Plessis outpoint Sean Strickland to become the new UFC middleweight champion.

Podcast mogul and veteran UFC color commentator Joe Rogan didn't commentate at the event, as he commentates only on PPVs in the United States.

With that in mind, Joe Rogan also won't be commentating du Plessis' rematch against Strickland.

The rematch goes down at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 8. Many foresee the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev potentially facing the du Plessis vs. Strickland winner.