"Who takes that guy seriously anyways?" - Dricus du Plessis brushes off Khamzat Chimaev's chances as next title challenger after UFC 297 win
Dricus du Plessis claimed the middleweight title with his win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. Following the bout, Khamzat Chimaev claimed that he would challenge 'Stillknocks' for the title at UFC 300.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, however, the middleweight champion dismissed 'Borz' getting the next title shot, stating:
"I want to do what is expected. Do I want double champ status? Absolutely, but I'm willing to earn that if there's contenders that make sense. I don't want to fight contenders that doesn't make sense. Fighting Israel Adesanya makes sense. Fighting guys that deserve the title shot makes sense, but I don't want to just fight somebody because. I don't want to be Israel Adesanya that fought Sean Strickland. Yeah, Strickland won that fight, but they should have never fought in my opinion."
The South African was asked if he was referencing Chimaev and informed of his tweet, responding:
"Yeah, but he said that to Jon Jones. I mean, who takes that guy seriously anyways?"
Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Chimaev is eager to contest middleweight gold following his UFC 294 majority decision victory over Kamaru Usman, who took the bout on ten days' notice and moved up a weight class. The No.9-ranked middleweight's performance was underwhelming, with many claiming that if it was a five-rounder, Usman would've emerged victorious.
Dricus du Plessis previously revealed he'd rather face Israel Adesanya than Khamzat Chimaev
Dricus du Plessis has made it clear that he doesn't believe Khamzat Chimaev deserves a title opportunity. Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie ahead of UFC 297, 'Stillknocks' stated:
"As far as I know Khamzat's a welterweight. What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight [Kamaru Usman]. Gerald Meerschaert? When was that? Was he even ranked? No, he wasn't ranked. So, that makes absolutely no sense."
He added:
"The UFC promised him a title fight? Where in the world does that happen? And he says now he's fighting Strickland. No, you're not. If there's a champion, if you get a title shot, I'm the champion. You're not going to get a title shot. And Israel Adesanya? That makes sense."
Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Following his UFC 297 split decision victory over Sean Strickland, du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya. The No.1-ranked middleweight, who had announced that he would take time away from mixed martial arts following his UFC 293 loss to 'Tarzan', took to social media to seemingly accept the call out.