Dricus du Plessis will make easy work of the undefeated middleweight title contender Khamzat Chimaev, according to one of his longtime training partners.

South Africa’s Du Plessis will seek to make the third successful defence of his 185-pound world title at UFC 316 in Chicago, Illinois in a little over two weeks time when he fights the undefeated Chechen wrestler Chimaev — a puzzle that no UFC athlete has been able to solve up to this point in his career.

Chimaev, though, faces a stern test in the shape of the 23-2 Du Plessis, who has defeated former champions Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya in recent contests.

And according to Du Plessis training parter Mark Hulme, Chimaev is in for a surprise when the cage door slams shut in the Windy City on August 16.

“Dricus finishes him under three,” Hulme told talkSPORT of the upcoming contest. “I can’t see [Chimaev] lasting more than three. He’s going to come out and burn himself.”

Chimaev’s grappling has proved to be his biggest weapon in his unbeaten, 14-0 career record so far — with none of his opponents, with the possible exception of Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, able to form any sort of riposte to his walk-forward aggression.

But this time around, Chimaev’s aggression will be his undoing, according to Hulme.

“I don’t think people have seen the extent of Dricus’ wrestling, and if I know him, it’s that he’s got a point to prove,” he added. “If people think that Khamzat is the guy to wrestle, he might just hold him off and shove his head up his a**.”

Hulme, a 13-3 middleweight in his own right, fights Dominik Humburger at an Oktagon MMA event on August 9.