Undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis may have put the kibosh on a potential rematch with Sean Strickland in the future — claiming he believes the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev likely deserves the next shot at his throne following UFC 308.
du Plessis, the current undisputed middleweight gold holder, most recently headlined UFC 305 back in August in Australia, successfully defending his title for the first time in the process.
Taking on arch-rival, Israel Adesanya in the pair’s title grudge fight ‘Downunder’, promotional-perfect star, Dricus du Plessis handed the City Kickboxing staple his second consecutive defeat in a championship setting, in the form of a fourth round rear-naked choke stoppage.
As for Chimaev, the newly-minted number three ranked contender co-headlined UFC 308 last weekend in Abu Dhabi, making short work of common-foe, Robert Whittaker, submitting the former champion with a damaging face crank submission in just three minutes.
Dricus du Plessis eyes Khamzat Chimaev title fight next
And staking his claim for a title fight with du Plessis next, Chimaev may get his wish according to the incumbent titleholder, who appears to favor a fight with the Chechen over a rematch fight with former champion Strickland as early as the opening quarter of next year.
“We always knew that, between Rob (Whittaker) and Khamzat (Chimaev), if it was going to be something exceptional that happens, there might be a change in the title fight,” DricusDu Plessis told Radioraps. “We have no clarity on that, but as a fan of the sport, and as the middleweight champion of the world, that’s a fight that gets me more excited – taking somebody’s 0. I’ve beaten (Sean) Strickland before, and I know I’ll beat him again.”
Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited,” Dricus du Plessis continued. “I think the whole world, the fans want to see it. The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights. So, the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. I think the Khamzat fight is 100 percent what I want. The UFC is 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.”