Khamzat Chimaev has one hole in his game he needs to address ahead of his world title fight with Dricus du Plessis, according to former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. 

The undefeated Chimaev will seek to win his first UFC world title when he fights 185-pound champion Du Plessis in the UFC 319 main event in Chicago on August 16, where he will be tasked with becoming the first fighter in the organisation to defeat the South African.

So far throughout his unbeaten 14-fight career, Chimaev has faced little resistance to his ultra-aggressive, walk-forward style — with only Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman scoring any type of success against the Chechen in fights they would both ultimately lose by judges’ decision.

The one common thread from those fights, however, was that both Burns and Usman saw a little more success in the latter rounds — suggesting that Chimaev’s cardio could ultimately be his undoing, particularly in a five-round fight with Du Plessis, a fighter who is well-regarded for his stamina.

“Chimaev needs to get on that Sam Calavitta cardio because that’s his only downfall is getting tired,” Dillashaw said on the Jaxxon podcast, as noted by MMA Junkie.

“DDP ain’t going to get tired. He needs to work on topping red line stuff. He goes for the kill, and you can only do that for so long. You have to train that section. Everyone’s heart rate, you get into the red zone, you start producing lactic acid, you get tired.

“The only way to make that better is to be in that red zone for as long as possible, and train to be there longer and also get used to it mentally. I would put a lot more money on Chimaev if he trains the right way for his cardio. If he doesn’t train his cardio the right way, it’s going to be hard for him to put DDP away and DDP’s going to get him in the later rounds and gas him out.”

That said, Dillashaw was also very complimentary of Chimaev’s skills — but added that top level cardio might be the missing piece of the puzzle.

“He’s good, he’s strong, his grappling is better, he’s got good, technical striking,” the former UFC champion said. “I just don’t think he has the gas tank if he doesn’t finish DDP to win the fight. …If Chimaev’s going to win this fight, he’s got to break in practice. So you’ve got to bring in enough guys to break him because he’s going to beat up his training partners. If you’re not getting beat up in training, you’re not training at the right spot.”