With the crowning moment dawning over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, lingering doubts about his future have already begun. While the 30-year-old is basking in the glory of being the first South African to hold the UFC gold, talks about his title defense are in full flow. Speculations have been made about who the possible opponent could be, and according to inputs from Du Plessis himself, Israel Adesanya looks to fit the bill. However, UFC veteran Chael Sonnen, in his latest YouTube video, begged to differ.
Reacting to the recently concluded UFC 297 event, Sonnen spoke on a variety of topics. One of them included the possible opponent of the newly crowned Middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis. Speaking on the matter, Sonnen touched upon his 2027 return, saying that he will definitely return sooner.
The 46-year-old also believes that Dana White & co. would surely try to push for a superfight with ‘Izzy’ and ‘Stillknocks’ at UFC 300. Unfortunately, ‘The American Gangster’ did not think it was possible. He said,
“Izzy in his latest interview said he’s not going to return to the gym until the beginning of March which means there’s no way he would be ready for Championship rounds by April… i don’t know how likely 300 is.”
Sonnen laid stress to the fact that there was no confirmed news of Adesanya hitting the gym at the moment. Thus, he believed that it was practically impossible for him to condition his body in time for UFC 300.
As a matter of fact, Du Plessis himself has injury woes to attend. He suffered significant cuts and bruises, which was evident when the Protea appeared at the post-match presser with a swollen face. Thus, he would need time to heal as well.
With clouds of doubtfulness lingering around the availability of Adesanya, there is no shortage of challenges for Du Plessis, though. A former Welterweight has already thrown a stern call out with a hint of mockery.
Khamzat Chimaev v Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 300?
Moments after the UFC Middleweight title changed hands, the Chechnya native Khamzat Chimaev challenged the new champion. He took to his X account (formerly known as Twitter) and went to mock Du Plessis. Unfortunately, while Chimaev is eager to face the South African, ‘Stillknocks’ thinks otherwise.
In the press conference following the event, Du Plessis bluntly denied considering Chimaev’s offer. He joked about the fact that Chimaev wanted to fight Jon Jones too, and thus, his words do not hold any significance to him.
With the situation intensifying around the Middleweight title, it is only a matter of time when we will know for sure who will ultimately face Dricus Du Plessis for the Middleweight gold.
