After a powerful victory over Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev has emerged as the clear favorite for a UFC title shot. Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has welcomed the idea of facing Chimaev, seeing it as a stepping stone toward his goal of becoming a two-division champion. But Chimaev thinks it’s a little funny!
The undefeated fighter brushed off Du Plessis’s ambitions and clarified he isn’t taking the champ’s double-title dreams seriously. Upon seeing a social media post quoting du Pessis’ ambition of being a champ-champ, ‘Borz’ simply spammed laughing emojis under it.
UFC middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis is set to face Sean Strickland but has his sights set on a showdown with undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev.
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Du Plessis claimed the 185-pound title with a split decision win over Strickland back in January and has recently defended it against former champ Israel Adesanya. While Strickland had public opinion on his side, Chimaev’s performance at UFC 308 seems to have shifted the tide in the Chechen’s favor.
“The talk has been about me fighting Strickland, but no contracts have been signed,” Du Plessis told ESPN.
“If you ask what I want, it’s 100 percent Khamzat. That’s the fight fans want.”
Du Plessis says he’d go anywhere in the world to meet Chimaev. Confident in his power and strength, he’s ready to test the Chechen fighters wrestling head-on.
Willing to bet on his own overwhelming power, the South African champion claimed,
“Khamzat’s strong, but he’s never felt power like this. Let’s meet strengths and see who can last.”
Now, it may be a while before the fight is made official, if it is to be made official at all, UFC stars have already begun to pick sides.
Kamaru Usman backs Chimaev for middleweight title
The legendary welterweight champion believes that Chimaev has the skills to take middleweight champ Du Plessis down and control him on the ground.
After watching Chimaev’s first-round submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308—and experiencing Chimaev’s strength himself at UFC 294—Usman knows just how explosive the Chechen is and just how much sheer control he can exert on his opponents.
Usman described Chimaev as incredibly tough to handle in the first round, given his unique combination of size, strength, and speed.
That said, he’s not so sure of a finish from ‘Borz’.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ acknowledged Du Plessis’s resilience, and noted that the middleweight champ is known for fighting through adversity. His unorthodox style can be a nightmare to prepare a camp for.
If the worst-case scenario, which is Chimaev taking him down and holding him down doesn’t come to pass, the Chechen could be in for a long and ridiculous night going against a man, who fights like the Kung Fu Panda.
