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Folding Dricus And Zhang Weili Stay at the top of their divisions.
Last Saturday, UFC 312 I went to Sydney, and for the second time this year, the two champions have kept their titles clearly. In the co-printer event, the longtime champion Wei cemented itself as the best book hunter for book on the planet (And maybe the best straw weight of all time) with unilated display Tatiana Suarez. Then, in the main event, of the Plessis silenced the skeptics with a dominant victory over a victory over his rival Sean Strickland In their revenge match.
So, with a lot to talk, let’s dive into your questions.
Folding Dricus
“Where does the DDP are currently classified among the champions of the average weights of the UFC, and what do you think of its chances against Khamzat Chimaev?”
If Du Plessis has retired tomorrow, I would feel comfortable calling him the fourth biggest champion of average weights in the history of the UFC. This puts him behind (in order) Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya and Chris Weidman, and a slit above Rich Franklin / Robert Whittaker. And I’m pretty sure it’s exactly the right place for him right now.
Du Plessis’s race through the UFC was damn impressive: 9 wins, 0 defeats, 6 finishes, 2 performances of night bonuses, 2 night fights and dominant victories on the contenders n ° 1, 4 and 5. These are elite stuff right there. In fact, if you wanted to make the argument, it is a better race than Weidman, you could, but I still prefer Weidman eliminating the average weight goat (even if it was old by then) as broke ‘equality. But if he obtains one more victory, Plessis certainly exceeds Weidman, and is suddenly hot in the heels of Adesanya.
In the end, however, it is the best in Plessis can reasonably hope. The problem with being an average weight is that Anderson Silva has established a standard impossible to respect. 11 Title defenses (I do not care that Travis Fight has missed weight, so it was not technically a defense of title, which counts) is a really unfathomable number, to the point that in its aftermath Combat, from the Plessis began to lay the basics to argue around him, saying that he wanted to be the goat and they are not reigning defenses. Yes, because he knows that he can never arrive at two -digit defenses. He should reign at the top of the division for another four years, in competition several times a year. It’s ridiculous.
That being said, Adesanya is possible to continue if Plessis can continue, and I am delighted to watch it try.
As for the Chimaev part, see below.
DDP against Khamzat Chimaev
“DDP vs Khamzat is the real version of a toddler taking two action figurines and breaking them together until a break, who breaks who in this fight?”
With his victory over Strickland, Du Plessis is now planned for a collision class with Chimaev a little later this year. It is a Fight from Du Plessis that you asked for the Strickland match, and it is essentially the fight that we have all wanted for more than a year. Finally, Finally Chimaev seems to fight for a belt.
But I don’t think it will go so easily for him as many people believe.
Chimaev is a force of nature which, at its peak, seems to be unstoppable, except that we have seen it stop very already several times. Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman gave “Borz” everything he could manage while being decently undersized. Whatever your thoughts on Plessis, it is not undersized.
People finally come to accept that the Plessis thought is not a technical wonder, it is enormous, athletic, powerful, hard as the nails, implacable and has an exceptional understanding of the fighting and the way of proceeding. This is almost exactly the specifications I want if I conceived a person to fight Chimaev.
Chimaev is a scientist struggling, but he also pope of people’s hossing defects, and I doubt that it is really possible against Plessis. In addition to that, the way Chimaev inevitably fights to fatigue, and Plessis has an excellent cardio (of course, he looks tired, but he is not tired, it’s honestly incredible, he In a way, you want to fall back). In the simplest terms, Chimaev fights like a tyrant, and Plessis is extremely well equipped to resist this tyrant. I prefer it to win the time of combat to come.
That being said, will I be shocked if Chimaev crosses DDP and wins the belt? No. But 2025 has already been a bad year for the “non -crown champions” * cough * Umar Nurmagomedov and Tatiana Suarez * cough * and could be even worse if Magomed Ankalaev intervenes next month. I would not be too confident in Chimaev.
Other average weights
IMAVOV then for DPP? I know we want to see Khamzat but can you justify that he won him on Imavov?
– Patmody (@patmody) February 9, 2025
“Nassourdine Imavov then DPP?” I know we want to see Khamzat but can you justify that he won him on Imavov?
Hahahahahahaha.
Come on now. In an organization strictly based on merit, Imavov would obtain the next crack in Plessis, but as William Munny said, “Merit has nothing to do with that.” Chimaev gets the blow. But if I am in Imavov’s camp, I campaign hard to be the rescue fighter for this fight, because as regards a fight of Chimaev, nothing is guaranteed.
Zhang Weili
Is Weili Zhang right now?
His victories against Joanna were great but they squeeze that her rose loses. Since then, she has fought once a year so far and has been better each time. Based on 35 years and older statistics as champion, is there even better to come? THANKS– Liam Parry (@ liampparry86) February 9, 2025
“Is Zhang Weili at his peak right now?” His victories against Joanna Jedrzejczyk were great, but they tighten the losses of Rose Namajunas. Since then, she has fought once a year so far and has been better each time. Based on 35 years and older statistics as champion, is there even better to come? »»
I think it is undeniably the peak of Zhang’s powers at the moment, and it is simply a question of how long will it last? 35 is old for sports, ancients for combat sports, and damn almost prehistoric for combat sports of category of lower weight. The clock turns on Zhang and it is simply a question of how long it can push it away.
Fortunately for her (and we as fans), it seems that it could be a good time! Zhang looked incredible against Tatiana Suarez, a fight that I thought I was very difficult for her. She dominated Suarez in the fight and the grapple and even jostled her around a heap too. Suarez, who is a great fighter, had nothing to offer and Zhang seemed that she was not about to fall from falling. And given what extent the division of straw weights is moribund, even if it falls, I do not know who is there to take advantage of any drop in Zhang. If she stays at 115, I think Zhang is holding the title for at least a few more years.
But that’s the question, will it not: will Zhang stay?
Even before Saturday, Zhang spoke at a step at 125 and afterwards, the CEO of the UFC, Dana White, has everything except that it was going to happen. If she stays in the straw, Zhang will probably set up an impeccable race which puts it just alongside the great of all time, but it seems that the attraction of two belts is too much.
Fly weight
Is I wrong to think that Valentina deeply defeated Weili? Weili is a brute, but Valentina was a physical strength even at 135 pounds (I thought I had beat up in the revenge match). She covered Zhang in terms of physicity and I do not think that the skills difference is wide enough for Zhang to win 3 of the 5 rounds.
– Mathis Desjardins (@ mdesjardins00.bsky.social) 2025-02-09T17: 18: 35.803Z
“Am I wrong to think that Valentina Shevchenko deeply defeated Weili?” Weili is a brute, but Valentina was a physical strength even at 135 pounds (I thought I had beat up in the revenge match). She covered Zhang in terms of physicity and I do not think that the skills difference is wide enough for Zhang to win 3 of the 5 rounds. »»
No, you are not, but I also thought that Tatiana Suarez would win, so what do I know?
In my head, Shevchenko beats Zhang in the most boring way because it is much larger and no matter what Jiu-Jitsu has tried to tell you, the size is important. I am old enough to remember when Jessica Andrade in all its greatness was a real test for Shevchenko although it is a natural 115er – Oh wait, it was undoubtedly the most dominant victory of Shevchenko.
However, there is the question of where Shevchenko is currently in his career. While the deposit arrives for Zhang sooner or later, he has already come for Shevchenko. Yes, she recovered the title of Alexa Grasso, but she decreases quite clearly in terms of physicity, speed and athletics. I would certainly not promote Zhang but I would not count him either.
Other fights
“Reflections on the draw of Jimmy Crute vs Rodolfo?”
I would have bet that money, not a single person was going to ask questions about the rest of the main card. I guess I would have been wrong.
Uh, was it surprisingly fun? Kody Steele and Rongzhu deserved to win the fight of the honors of the night, but he was not a terrible finalist. The problem is that it did not matter, apart from the fighters themselves. Apart from the main and co-principal event, each fight was not inspired, meaningless or both. I will forget them all quickly.
Of
Was it the three worst fights to open a PPV?
– Dillon Armoogam (@Dogyee) February 10, 2025
“Was it the three worst fights to open a PPV?”
Surely not. There have been more than 300 à la carte events. I’m sure if I deeply dug, I could find one. But yes, nothing comes to my mind to finish it. It’s the UFC in 2025: you will buy it anyway, so why should we bother ourselves?
Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who sent tweets (XS?)! Do you have burning questions about things at least somewhat linked to combat sports? Then you are lucky because you can send me your tweets, @JedkmeshewAnd I will answer my favorites! It doesn’t matter if they are topical or crazy, as long as they are good. Thank you again, and you see next week.
