Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.
‘Borz’ made a pretty compelling case at UFC 308, scoring a quickfire submission victory over Whittaker. With the win, Chimaev moved to the No. 3 spot in the 185-pound rankings and appears to be well on his way to his first title opportunity inside the Octagon.
However, the unbeaten Chechen monster may be waiting a bit after UFC CEO Dana White promised Sean Strickland the next title shot.
“Yes, [Strickland is still next],” White told reporters at a DWCS press conference in October.
White’s comments came weeks before Chimaev dropped jaws with his first-round neck-crank finish against ‘The Reaper’ in Abu Dhabi, leading many to suggest that ‘Borz’ be allowed to skip the line and walk straight into a scrap with ‘Stillknocks.’
Appearing on the MMArcade podcast with Jonny Roses, Whittaker echoed that same sentiment.
“I think [Khamzat] should go straight to Dricus,” Whittaker said. “I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded, ever.”
Khamzat Chimaev likely to face winner of ‘dDP’ vs. Strickland 2 instead of jumping the line
Following his win against Paulo Costa at UFC 302, Strickland made it clear that he planned to sit on the sidelines and wait for a rematch with Du Plessis. Clearly, Whittaker is not of fan of that strategy, but you can’t really blame Strickland for not wanting to put his spot at the front of the line at stake — especially after White confirmed he’s next.
No official date for ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 has been locked down. Originally, the promotion had hoped to take the sequel scrap to Du Plessis’ home country, South Africa. Unfortunately, it sounds like that is no longer the case after White indicated issues with locking down a venue.
No matter where Du Plessis and Strickland decide to run it back, Khamzat Chimaev will be watching and waiting.