Dricus du Plessis wants Khamzat Chimaev next: ‘I think the whole world wants to see it’

Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev should be his next title defense.

This past Saturday, Chimaev scored the most impressive win of his career, literally breaking former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round of their UFC 308 matchup. The performance was so impressive that du Plessis, the current middleweight champion, stood up and took notice of “Borz,” saying he wants to be the first man to defeat him. And now the champ says he wants to do that next.

Speaking with RadioRaps on Wednesday, du Plessis made the case for Chimaev as his next title challenger, instead of the presumed rematch with Sean Strickland that previously seemed to be in line.

“We always knew between Rob and Khamzat if there was going to be something exceptional that happens, there might be a change in the title fight,” du Plessis said. “We have no clarity on that, but as a fan of the sport and as the middleweight champion of the world, that’s a fight that gets me more excited, taking somebody’s 0. I’ve beaten Strickland before, and I know I’ll beat him again. Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited.”

Du Plessis won the title from Strickland back in January, taking a contentious split decision win at UFC 297. Since then, du Plessis defended his title with submission win over Israel Adesanya, while Strickland won a decision over Paulo Costa, leading UFC CEO Dana White to say Strickland is next in line for a title shot.

But that may have changed for White as well. In his UFC 308 post-fight press conference, White was less committed to Strickland than he previously was, saying who gets the next crack at du Plessis is “a good question.” And for du Plessis that question boils down to which fight is bigger for the fans?

“I think the whole world wants to see it,” du Plessis said. “The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights, so the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. So I think the Khamzat fight is 100 percent what I want. The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.”