Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 might have been enough for him to jump the line in the 185-pound division.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, was impressed with Chimaev’s first-round submission win over Whittaker this past weekend in Abu Dhabi and said in an interview with South Africa’s Radioraps Wednesday he is turning his sights to Chimaev instead of a proposed rematch with Sean Strickland.
“As a fan of the sport and as the middleweight champion of the world, that’s a fight that gets me more excited,” Du Pless said of a hypothetical title defence against the 14-0 Chimaev. “Taking somebody’s 0 — you know, I’ve beaten Strickland before, and I know I’ll beat him again — so getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited.”
Du Plessis became champion in January after winning a five-round split decision over Strickland in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto.
The South African champ made his first successful title defence in August against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
UFC president Dana White has previously said Strickland, the No. 1-ranked contender in the weight class, would be granted a rematch after Strickland bounced back from his loss to Du Plessis with a forgettable five-round decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. White said after UFC 297 he thought Strickland should’ve been given the decision victory.
Whittaker sustained an injury to his jaw and teeth, thanks to Chimaev’s powerful rear-naked choke hold that he locked in after controlling Whittaker for the first couple minutes of the fight.
Chimaev hadn’t fought in a year but moved up 10 spots to No. 3 in the official UFC middleweight rankings following the win.
“I think the whole world, the fans want to see (me vs. Chimaev) and the fans ultimately pay to watch the fights, so the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want,” Du Plessis added. “I think the Khamzat fight is 100 per cent what I want. The UFC’s going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.”
Du Plessis and Chimaev are both 30 years old, both debuted in the UFC in 2020, and both have amassed impressive 8-0 records at the UFC level each with six finishes.
The UFC has not yet confirmed who Du Plessis’s next challenger will be or when in 2025 his second title defence could take place.