Khamzat Chimaev claims he’s going to bring the middleweight title back to “the normal people” in a recent post on social media.
In the time since ‘Borz’ last stepped inside the Octagon, 185-pound champion Dricus Du Plessis has both captured and defended the division’s top prize. His most recent appearance came at UFC 305 in Perth when he scored a stunning fourth-round submission victory over former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.
All signs point toward ‘DDP’ running it back with the man he took the title from, Sean Strickland, in his next outing. However, those plans could be disrupted should Chimaev deliver a dominant showing when he squares off with Robert Whittaker next month at UFC 308.
During a recent conversation with friend and former UFC standout Darren Till, Chimaev fired a few shots at Du Plessis and expressed his desire to bring the 185-pound belt back to the “normal people” while unnecessarily commenting on the South African star’s alleged sexual orientation.
“We need to get the title back for the normal people, man. This gay who has the belt, man, not normal. First time I’ve ever seen or heard like African gay,” Chimaev said on X Spaces.
Khamzat Chimaev wants to take the title from Dricus du Plessis
"We need to get the title back for the normal people man. This gay who have the belt man, not normal."#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/PgLSiaUu24
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 9, 2024
Dricus Du Plessis snaps back at Khamzat Chimaev
Dricus Du Plessis was quick to snap back at Chimaev’s bigoted comment, suggesting that ‘Borz’ focus on actually making it to a fight before running his mouth about a title shot.
“You just focus on trying to make it to a fight, any fight!” Du Plessis replied.
Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC career got off to a fast and furious start with him winning three fights in the span of eight weeks. Since then, he’s barely averaged one fight per year and has seen at least six previously scheduled fights canceled. In June, ‘Borz’ was scheduled to headline UFC Saudi Arabia before bowing out after becoming “violently ill” with an undisclosed illness.
Whittaker, who was supposed to face Chimaev that night, went on to score a first-round KO against short-notice replacement Ikram Alikerov in Riyadh. ‘The Reaper’ then asked the UFC to rebook his bout for October 26 when the promotion heads back to Abu Dhabi.
Online sportsbooks BetOnline.ag is currently allowing bettors to wager whether or not Chimaev will actually show up at Etihad Arena next month with odds opening at -140 in favor of ‘Borz’ not making the walk come fight night.