Dricus Du Plessis is much more interested in fighting the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev than running it back with Sean Strickland.
On August 17, ‘DDP’ will defend his middleweight championship against two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. It will be Du Plessis’ first time defending the strap since his split decision victory over Strickland in January. No matter who comes out on top in The Land Down Under, Strickland fully expects to be the next man in line for a title opportunity. However, that may not be the case—especially if it’s Du Plessis who has his hand raised.
As it turns out, ‘Stillknocks’ is far more interested in fighting the winner of Whittaker vs. Chimaev instead of giving ‘Tarzan’ his rematch.
“Whittaker does have the two wins,” Du Plessis told Shak MMA. “Strickland shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he got it by default and then proved that he deserved to be there. So that’s amazing. The winner of Khamzat and Whittaker is gonna get the title shot. That’s gonna happen. Strickland says he’s gonna wait until he gets a title shot. He’s gonna wait for quite a while, in my opinion.
“If Whittaker beats Khamzat, he’s 100 percent getting the title shot. The UFC’s been wanting to give Khamzat a title shot since his debut. Maybe if it’s a draw, Khamzat will still get the title shot. Let’s see if he makes it to the fight.”
Dricus du Plessis thinks the winner of Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev will get the next title shot over Sean Strickland
"The winner of Khamzat and Whittaker is gonna get the title shot.
Strickland says he's gonna wait until he gets a title shot, he's gonna wait for quite… pic.twitter.com/w9tmoysRW6
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 8, 2024
Since the loss to Du Plessis, Strickland fought his way back into the win column with a split decision over Paulo Costa in June. Whittaker, on the other hand, has back-to-back victories, defeating both Costa and Ikram Aliskerov. If ‘The Reaper’ can bag a big win over the undefeated Chechen sensation at UFC 308 in October, it would be hard to deny him a shot at the 185-pound crown no matter who’s carrying it by then.
Dricus Du Plessis Laughs at the Idea of Islam Makhachev Moving Up to Middleweight
While there are already plenty of middleweight contenders lining up for their opportunity, there’s always the threat of another division’s champion trying to jump up and claim a second belt.
Recently, newly minted welterweight world champion Belal Muhammad suggested that his friend and training partner Islam Makhachev could jump up from 155 to 185 in a bid to obtain champ-champ status. Asked about a potential clash with Makhachev, Du Plessis had a hearty laugh.
“Yeah, I mean, what can I say… Everybody can dream, I always say never cap your dreams and dream big, but he’s dreaming real big and I’m very big,” Du Plessis told Kevin Iole.
“Of course, in this sport, everybody wants that I mean especially after it’s been done [so many times], I completely understand going up to another division and fighting for a belt because there comes a stage where it makes sense.”
Du Plessis certainly isn’t opposed to the idea of one day facing Makhachev in a champion vs. champion clash, but he thinks the Dagestani needs to take care of some business at lightweight before considering a move up.
“I’m not the one who’s going to say no. I’m saying you have to at the least, at the very least, defend your belt three maybe four times before ever considering going up–unless there are special circumstances that make sense.
“People win a belt, and they immediately go ‘I want to be double [champion]’ but you’re not Conor McGregor… He was the first to do it and he did it in spectacular fashion. He was the trendsetter, the pioneer in doing that and everyone tries to be like that – that’s not the case [here].”
Dricus du Plessis laughs at the idea of Islam Makhachev moving up to middleweight:
"Everybody can dream right… dream big, but he's dreaming REAL big. I'm VERY big."
🎥 @KevinI #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/5zV7iwbRKa
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 8, 2024
