Joe Rogan doubts Dricus du Plessis can withstand Khamzat Chimaev's wrestling: "So high level"

UFC color commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan thinks Khamzat Chimaev might be levels above other middleweight fighters, including reigning UFC champion Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev defeated Robert Whittaker at the recent UFC 308 event, inserting his name in the title picture. He could fight du Plessis in the foreseeable future.

Many expected Whittaker to be the toughest test of Chimaev's professional MMA career. However, the Chechen-born fighter dominated the former champion on the ground and pulled off a first-round submission victory. Du Plessis is also considered one of the best middleweight grapplers in the UFC but Rogan doubts his chances against Chimaev.

In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan said:

"[Dricus du Plessis] can wrestle, he's got very good Jiu-jitsu. He hits 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 [Khamzat Chimaev]. I don't know, man. Khamzat's skill is so high level, it makes me wonder..."

He added:

"Some guys in Jiu-jitsu... they look really good until they fight somebody who's really, really good and then they get manhandled. Everybody looks good until they face Gordon Ryan. Is Khamzat at that level? Well, it kind of appears that he is. It appears that, in terms of the grappling that he possesses, he seems magnitudes greater than anybody else in his division."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (3:14:15):

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Joe Rogan defends Khamzat Chimaev's performance in the back-and-forth battle against Gilbert Burns

Chimaev is being touted as the toughest challenge to Dricus du Plessis' middleweight title reign. He is also a sizable betting favoritein the early odds, a testimony to his competitive abilities.

While top middleweight fighters appear to be at a disadvantage against Chimaev, Gilbert Burns gave the Chechen-born fighter his toughest fight so far. In a three-round welterweight bout at UFC 273, Burns forced 'Borz' to fight a gritty battle. Chimaev won on the scorecards, but his performance raised a lot of questions about his chances against top-ranked fighters.

When his podcast guests asked Rogan to share his thoughts on the Burns fight in the aforementioned episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan replied:

"I don't think [Khamzat Chimaev] is the same guy at 170 pounds. I also think Gilbert is tough as f***. At that point in time, Gilbert had challenged Usman for the title and lost but then came back and was one of the best 170-pounders in the world. It was a big step up in competition that I don't think Khamzat had faced before. Chimaev. And Gilbert is a world champion in Jiu-jitsu. He's a very, very, very good grappler. So there's a difference there. When you get Glbert to the ground, it's not that simple." [3:15:25]

While Rogan seems to be backing Chimaev's wrestling against du Plessis, the reigning champion has also issued a warning to the 30-year-old after his UFC 308 win and expressed the desire to take his '0'.