In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator made a bold statement about the middleweight division that surprised the MMA community. While discussing elite wrestling dominance with former UFC heavyweight Mark Kerr, Rogan expressed his belief that current champion Dricus du Plessis will never be able to defeat rising contender Khamzat Chimaev.
The conversation arose when Kerr and Rogan were analyzing the impact of elite wrestlers in modern MMA. Rogan specifically referenced Chimaev’s dominant performance against du Plessis in their previous encounter, describing it as a masterclass in wrestling superiority that left little doubt about the gap between the two fighters.
“I don’t think DDP will ever beat Khamzat,” Rogan stated emphatically during the podcast. “It was like, I don’t think there’s enough time in the world to bridge that gap. You can’t… you can never catch up.”
Rogan’s assessment stems from what he witnessed during Chimaev’s overwhelming wrestling display against the South African champion. He described how Chimaev’s relentless takedown attempts and ground control created an insurmountable challenge for du Plessis, who appeared helpless against the Chechen-Swedish fighter’s grappling prowess.
The podcast host drew parallels between Chimaev and other elite wrestlers from Dagestan and surrounding regions, praising their ability to sustain attacks repeatedly in ways that exhaust even world-class opponents.
“Elite elite elite wrestler against a world champion MMA fighter who’s been dominating everybody and who’s very difficult to take down, and Khamzat just ramped it up, kept it up,” Rogan explained.
Mark Kerr, speaking from his extensive wrestling background, agreed with Rogan’s assessment. He talked about the fundamental advantage that elite wrestling provides in MMA.
Before their match, du Plessis was widely considered one of the greatest middleweights of all time. He had defeated elite contenders like Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland. However, Rogan believes that Chimaev’s wrestling foundation creates an unbridgeable technical gap that no amount of training can overcome in a Du Plessis’ remaining career.
