Joe Rogan believes Dricus du Plessis’ next fight after UFC 297 should be against Khamzat Chimaev or a Sean Strickland rematch.
On Saturday night, Strickland and Du Plessis went to war in a back-and-forth battle for the UFC middleweight title. Once the dust settled, ‘Stillknocks’ was crowned the new 185-pound king due to a split decision scorecard (48-47 x2 and 47-48).
There were mixed reactions to the UFC 297 main event result, as some people thought Strickland did enough to retain his throne.
As for Joe Rogan, the legendary UFC commentator watched the event on a livestream alongside Brendan Schaub, Eddie Bravo, and Joey Diaz. Before the official decision was announced, Rogan and his friends predicted Strickland would have his hand raised.
Once the winner was revealed, Rogan had this to say during his immediate reaction:
“Wow, interesting, very interesting. I wonder how the people online feel about that because we’re not scoring it while we’re watching it, we’re just having fun. Were we wrong?… I definitely think [Du Plessis] won the fourth, but do you think he won the fifth? I don’t know man. The fifth seemed like it was Sean was landing more shots.”
Following his life-changing win, Dricus du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya, who hasn’t officially announced if he will fight in 2024. Therefore, Joe Rogan had this to say about Du Plessis potentially fighting Sean Strickland in an immediate rematch:
“Why not [do a rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland at UFC 300]? If [Israel] Adesanya can’t make it, listen, that’s a good fight. A rematch? That’s a good fight. That’s a very quick turnaround for either one of these guys though. If you have a split decision loss, that is one of the best indications that it was a close fight. The kind of fights you want to see a rematch on are the ones that are close fights.”
Watch Rogan’s reaction to the UFC 297 main event below:
Joe Rogan talks about Dricus du Plessis potentially defending his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev
It’s unclear what the UFC plans to do for Dricus du Plessis’ first middleweight title defense. With that said, there is a possibility that Du Plessis won’t fight Israel Adesanya or Sean Strickland next time out for varying reasons.
During the previously mentioned live stream, Joe Rogan suggested that Khamzat Chimaev could be the first to challenge Du Plessis, assuming Ramadan doesn’t interfere:
“How about [Du Plessis] vs. Khamzat [Chimaev], UFC 300?… Will Khamzat fight in Ramadan? He’s crazy…They would be fighting during Ramadan. Can’t they just sleep all day [and then eat at night]? Can’t you just adjust your sleeping schedule? I know Belal [Muhammad] has done camps through Ramadan.”
Dana White and the UFC could be targeting Dricus du Plessis’ next fight for UFC 300 on April 13. The highly-anticipated event doesn’t have a confirmed main event, which could be resolved if Israel Adesanya is willing to return against Du Plessis.
Watch Dana White talk about what’s next for Dricus du Plessis below:
Dana White asked if Israel Adesanya is trying to come back sooner rather than later:
We'll find out next week. #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/V15Qapi9HK
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 21, 2024
