UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis thinks placing Khamzat Chimaev within the title dialog is pointless.
Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was scheduled to face Robert Whittaker in a No. 1 contender bout at UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, however an sickness compelled him out of the bout. His most up-to-date win came visiting former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has all the time been intrigued by the potential for handing Chimaev his first profession loss, however thinks “Borz” nonetheless has some work to do earlier than getting into the middleweight title image.
“I’d like to struggle Khamzat. No one’s crushed him, and he was nearly just like the boogeyman of this division,” Du Plessis informed Submission Radio. “However let’s be sincere: I used to be a bit upset that struggle didn’t occur. (I’m) not that shocked, to be sincere. I didn’t count on it, however you sort of must at this stage – count on one thing to occur. I’m feeling sorry for the man. I do know what it seems like.
“I’ve been on that aspect of the world of not having the ability to struggle and it sucks. Proper now, it simply doesn’t even make sense to speak about it. You understand, he hasn’t fought one single ranked middleweight – not one – and to even put him in that dialog proper now looks like we’re losing time speaking about it. He’s not within the run, and up till he proves that he deserves to be in that run, there’s no use in speaking about it.”
Du Plessis will look to make his first protection within the UFC 305 headliner Aug. 17 when he takes on former champion Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) at RAC Area in Perth, Australia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
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