- Dricus du Plessis thinks Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t deserve a title shot at 185
- Michael Bisping pointed out why “Borz” has already earned it
As Dricus du Plessis refuses to give Khamzat Chimaev a title shot at middleweight, Michael Bisping laid out all the reasons why he thinks “Borz” deserves it.
Dricus doesn’t see the point
Du Plessis made quite some headlines after he told MMA Junkie that Chimaev hasn’t done anything in the middleweight division to earn a crack at UFC gold. If ever he becomes the 185 champ, “Stillknocks” firmly said “Borz” will not be his first title challenger.
“As far as I know Khamzat’s a welterweight. What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought at welterweight (in Usman). Gerald Meerschaert? When was that? Was he even ranked? No, he wasn’t ranked. So, that makes absolutely no sense,” Du Plessis pointed out.
“The UFC promised him a title fight? Where in the world does that happen? And he says 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,” he added.
Check out Du Plessis’ full interview below:
Bisping defends Borz
While Du Plessis seems to have a point, Bisping came to Chimaev’s defense. According to “The Count,” no matter what “Stillknocks” says, all signs point to “Borz” as the next title challenger in the middleweight division.
“Sean Strickland’s a welterweight. Strickland started his career as a welterweight… He came up to 185 and the man’s become a champion. Robert Whitaker, the last guy that Dricus beat was a welterweight before he came up to 185. Khamzat Chimaev? Yes, fought the bulk of his career at welterweight but he has fought 185 on two occasions – Gerald Meerschaert one-punch knockout and then a back and forth, very close fight with Kamaru Usman and he was pretty much guaranteed a title fight by Dana White if I’m not mistaken so that is the next fight,” Bisping began.
“He’s talking about fighting Israel Adesanya and that does make sense. I feel like I talked about this recently, Dricus Du Plessis, if he does become the champion, there’s a lot of options for him right but number one option is probably Khamzat Chimaev. Yes, Israel Adesanya, there is beef there they’ve squared off in the Octagon, they’ve went back and forth, they’re both claiming to be the real African and all this type of stuff, there’s a lot of hype and promo material for that fight. However, Israel just came out, he’s injured, he’s actually attending rehab as we speak,” he pointed out. “… But when you look at the middleweight division, if it’s not going to be Sean Strickland and if it isn’t Israel Adesanya, then who is it going to be?.”
“Chimaev is ranked No. 9, okay, and that’s probably another reason why Dricus says that he doesn’t deserve it okay, fair enough. He’s ranked No. 9 but he’s got a ton of hype, he just beat Kamaru Usman, who yes, was a welterweight but he was the pound-for-pound number one, he was a longtime welterweight champion for many defenses… and on top of that Dana said whoever wins, Kamaru or Khamzat, they get to fight for the belt so there it is there it is. Khamzat is also undefeated, he’s six or seven and 0 in the UFC and he’s a big star right, Khamzat Chimaev gets numbers,” he concluded.
As it stands, Chimaev has remained unbeaten in pro MMA career. He is looking to be slated for a bout at UFC 300 but his long-term goal is to be the middleweight champion.
What lies ahead of Chimaev is yet to be known as Du Plessis and Strickland would first have to take on each other at UFC 297.
Check out Bisping’s full video below:
