By handing Chimaev his first-career loss, Sonnen says Du Plessis would move up a couple of spots in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. Du Plessis holds two wins over Sean Strickland, and finishes over former middleweight champions Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

UFC 319 is shaping up to be a battle between an immovable object and an unstoppable force. Dricus du Plessis, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, will defend his title against the undefeated juggernaut Khamzat Chimaev in what promises to be one of the year’s most explosive main events.

Sean Strickland wonders how Dricus Du Plessis will react to Khamzat Chimaev's dominant ground game. Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) defends his UFC middleweight title against undefeated Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16 from United Center in Chicago ( ESPN+, ESPN, pay-per-view).