Exactly 10 days from today, the biggest middleweight fight of the year will take place in Saudi Arabia when Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker takes on the surging undefeated prospect, Khamzat Chimaev. This will indeed be a huge step for both the fighters with the 33-year-old Whittaker fearlessly agreeing to fight ‘Borz.’ However, the MW champ, Dricus du Plessis feels that the Aussie wouldn’t be entitled to a title shot even if he gets past the Chechen.
In his exclusive to FightWave, the South African gave his thoughts on the upcoming matchup between Whittaker and Chimaev. He even insisted that he would like to see a bout between former champions, Whittaker and Strickland for the #1 spot before he offers the Aussie a title shot.
“In my opinion, should Whittaker beat Khamzat, I don’t think it warrants him a title shot. Honestly, I would love to see [Whittaker] and Strickland fight it out for the #1 contender fight.”
Dricus du Plessis talks about the middleweight divison, and believes that if Robert Whittaker defeats Khamzat Chimaev it doesn't warrant him a title shot:
"Should [Khamzat] beat Whittaker I would love to fight Khamzat. In my opinion, should Whittaker beat Khamzat, I don't think… pic.twitter.com/AEZVZiEVBG
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 11, 2024
Much like the fandom, the MW champ is also eager to see how Chimaev will fair against a veteran of the sport like Whittaker. In fact, the fight will be a quantum leap for the Chechen as he is yet to face a battle-hardened warrior like ‘The Reaper.’ Likewise, for the veteran, Khamzat‘s wrestling background will test his mettle.
For du Plessis, the matchup is very interesting and he’d be ecstatic to face ‘Borz.’ However, Whittaker doesn’t excite him as much as he already defeated him at UFC 290. In addition to that, it seems like the Proteas is looking for newer and fresher opponents, and rematching with a former foe seems to be not his thing.
Interestingly, in the same interview, du Plessis talked about his trajectory, teasing his next bout and potential opponent.
Dricus du Plessis talks about his next fight
Earlier this year, du Plessis shook up the world when he snatched the title from the fan-favorite Sean Strickland at UFC 297. However, the win was a tad bit controversial with even the president of the company, Dana White questioning the judges’ decision.
Nevertheless, du Plessis became the first South African to capture the belt in the organization and is all set to return to action. Most probably, his first title defense would be against ex-champ, Israel Adesanya with rumors suggesting that the two would clash heads at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia.
While these are just rumors and speculations at the moment, the MW champ has relayed his excitement to face his longtime rival Adesanya or maybe take on Chimaev next. In fact, he said that he is up for whatever the UFC has in store for him.
