Dricus Du Plessis feels that Khamzat Chimaev should not be part of the UFC middleweight title discussions.
Chimaev was set to face Robert Whittaker in the middleweight main event on June 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, he had to withdraw from the fight due to illness. The undefeated fighter has been out of action since October of last year, when he defeated former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
Despite Chimaev’s troubles in recent years, many experts and fans believe he’s essentially one big win away from a title shot. However, the middleweight champ begs to differ.
In a chat with Submission Radio, Du Plessis said that he loves the idea of fighting Chimaev down the road, but the Chechen fighter doesn’t deserve to be in the title conversation for now.
“I would love to fight Khamzat. Nobody’s beaten him, and he was almost like the boogeyman of this division,” Du Plessis said. “But let’s be honest: I was a bit disappointed that fight didn’t happen. (I’m) not that surprised, to be honest. I didn’t expect it, but you kind of have to at this stage—expect something to happen. I’m feeling sorry for the guy. I know what it feels like.
“I’ve been on that side of not being able to fight, and it sucks. Right now, it just doesn’t even make sense to talk about it. You know, (Khamzat Chimaev) hasn’t fought one single ranked middleweight—not one—and to even put him in that conversation right now seems like we’re wasting time talking about it. He’s not in the run, and until he proves that he deserves to be in that run, there’s no use in talking about it.”
Du Plessis is scheduled to make his inaugural title defense against former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on August 18th.
Do you agree with Dricus Du Plessis?
