Chael Sonnen has laid out his thoughts on the upcoming Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman main event set for UFC Fight Night 281 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Du Plessis is scheduled to meet former welterweight champion Usman in a five-round headliner, with the matchup coming after Du Plessis lost his 185-pound belt to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 by being outgrappled for five rounds. According to the article, Du Plessis enters with a 23-3 professional record and a 9-1 mark in the UFC, while Usman holds a 21-4 professional record and 16-3 UFC slate.
Sonnen made his pick clear, saying, "I would expect that Kamaru is going to win just because he's a wrestling champion and just because Dricus didn't just lose his last fight, he lost his last five rounds," and added, "And he lost it to a wrestler. Dricus is fantastic, but I do think Kamaru Usman is going to win. I think Kamaru Usman can beat everybody in that bracket. He's already beaten the champion. Dricus can say the same thing, but Kamaru's already beaten the champion."
Sonnen also questioned how the matchup came together, stating, "You got one fight for him in two years. You can't get him to agree to fight anybody, all of a sudden, he's going to leave his weight class, take on one of the nastiest motherf*ckers you can find, and he's going to do it for five rounds? I don't believe you. Some kind of a deal was made."
Looking at the middleweight picture, Sonnen pointed to Nassourdine Imavov as a clear contender and suggested there may be title implications tied to Du Plessis vs. Usman.
