Dricus du Plessis addresses Khamzat Chimaev bout falling through in light of Sean Strickland title fight booking: "Timing also played a big role"
Dricus du Plessis has shed light on his potential fight against Khamzat Chimaev falling through and being booked for a rematch against Sean Strickland instead. 'Stillknocks' maintained that he was open to both matchups, further indicating that a supposed issue between Chimaev and the UFC likely resulted in that fight not materializing.
South Africa's du Plessis faced Strickland in Jan. 2024 and defeated the American via split decision to capture the UFC middleweight title. Following that, Strickland secured a split decision victory against Paulo Costa in June 2024.
Meanwhile, du Plessis defended the title by stopping combat sports megastar Israel Adesanya via fourth-round submission in Aug. 2024.
The undefeated Chimaev is fresh off dominantly defeating former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker via first-round submission in Oct. 2024.
Given Chimaev's spectacular performance, against a middleweight great like Whittaker nonetheless, a number of fans demanded that Chimaev be granted a title shot against Du Plessis.
Nevertheless, the UFC recently confirmed that Dricus du Plessis will defend his title in a rematch against Sean Strickland. Their showdown headlines UFC 312 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 8, 2025 (Feb. 9, 2025, local time in Australia).
On being asked whether he was offered a fight against Chimaev, Du Plessis answered:
"It was on the tables, for sure. But, you know, it was - we talked about it. But it wasn't from our side, where, or from his side, where the fight didn't happen. I think there were some issues with the UFC and Khamzat. I'm not sure. And timing - I think timing also played a big role. But there were conversations. And I said that's the fight I want, so let's do it. And they couldn't make it happen, so Strickland is the fight they did."
Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below:
Watch Dricus du Plessis' interview below (*comments about the Chimaev fight at 1:53):
Dricus du Plessis' clarification on Sean Strickland rematch, possible Khamzat Chimaev fight
Speculation has long abounded that Chimaev's alleged issues in procuring a U.S. visa and/or his association with Chechnyan political leader Ramzan Kadyrov have prevented the UFC from booking him in a title fight.
Regardless, many foresee him potentially fighting the Du Plessis-Strickland winner for the title. Moreover, Strickland has vowed to beat 'Stillknocks' and reclaim the title.
Dricus du Plessis put forth a tweet earlier this week, alluding that before Khamzat Chimaev's one-sided win over Robert Whittaker, many fans wanted him to rematch Sean Strickland.
The middleweight kingpin suggested that he wanted to fight Chimaev after the latter's stoppage of Whittaker but the UFC booked him against Strickland. Implying that he has no qualms with it, Du Plessis wrote on X:
"Just for clarification I preferred the Khamzat fight but the rematch is a fight most wanted before Khamzat vs Withaker. I'm not unhappy with the UFC's decision like I said I'll fight the man fans think is the next best guy he was promised the fight so Strickland it is."