Dricus du Plessis could also be a divisive determine amongst fight sports activities followers, however no person can say the UFC middleweight champion is not up for a problem. Following, Khamzat Chimaev’s jaw-shattering win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, du Plessis sees Chimaev because the extra deserving — and extra thrilling — opponent for his subsequent title protection.
Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in January to seize the title. After submitting rival and former champion Israel Adesanya in August, it was presumed, although by no means made official, that du Plessis would rematch Strickland. After seeing Chimaev end a former world champion and future Corridor of Famer in Whittaker, du Plessis stated he is extra occupied with a battle with Chimaev.
“We all the time knew between Rob and Khamzat if there was going to be one thing distinctive that occurs, there is likely to be a change within the title battle,” du Plessis informed RadioRaps. “Now we have no readability on that, however as a fan of the game and because the middleweight champion of the world, that is a battle that will get me extra excited, taking any person’s 0. I’ve crushed Strickland earlier than and I do know I will beat him once more. Getting that Khamzat battle, that will get me excited.”
Dricus du Plessis says he believes Khamzat Chimaev ought to get the subsequent title shot over Sean Strickland
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Chimaev burst onto the UFC scene with two lopsided wins in a 10-day span in 2020. He continued crushing the opposition whereas barely receiving any harm and appeared a lock to, on the very least, problem for UFC gold briefly order.
Sadly, Chimaev was slowed down as a consequence of a nasty bout of COVID-19 that led to him briefly saying his retirement from the game in early 2021.
He was again profitable fights by the top of that 12 months however missed weight for his September 2022 battle with Nate Diaz, costing him a fundamental occasion slot within the course of. Chimaev would additionally miss time earlier in 2024 as a consequence of one other critical sickness. These setbacks, together with rumors that Chimaev’s ties to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov have left him unable to journey to many international locations as a consequence of visa restrictions, have served to decelerate Chimaev’s run to a title shot.
Nevertheless, that chance might come earlier than later if left to du Plessis.
“The followers in the end pay to observe the fights,” du Plessis stated. “The battle the world thinks is one of the best subsequent battle, that is what I would like. So I believe the Khamzat battle is 100% what I would like. The UFC goes to do what they will do, however from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I believe Khamzat ought to get the subsequent shot.”
