Contrary to popular belief, Khamzat Chimaev, known for his dominance in the welterweight, was reportedly not even considered as a potential opponent for Sean Strickland’s first title defense at UFC 297. Following a series of troublesome weight cuts and dominant finishes at welterweight, Chimaev transitioned to middleweight where he contested against Kamaru Usman, another debutant in the middleweight category. Despite the fact that this bout was believed to be a title eliminator, Chimaev’s victory over Usman wasn’t considerably compelling or decisive, potentially affording insight into why he wasn’t considered for Strickland’s first title defense.
In the wake of these developments, Strickland is now slated to defend his title against South African standout, Dricus Du Plessis, in UFC 297’s main event taking place on January 20 in Toronto. Throughout the discussions on UFC 297, the notion of Chimaev as an opponent for this title defense didn’t arise. Lance Spaude, Strickland’s manager from the Iridium Sports Agency, in an interview with the MMA Mania “Sound & Pound” podcast, confirmed this, expressing that Chimaev’s name was “never even brought up in the discussion”.
Spaude continued to discuss the state of affairs in the podcast, expressing curiosity about Chimaev’s plans and acknowledging that there may be issues with Chimaev’s hand or wrist that could explain his non-inclusion. He signaled a degree of respect for Strickland’s reputation of responding to what the UFC asks, and for his approach to making strategic career decisions. Furthermore, concerning Strickland’s pending UFC 297 face-off with Du Plessis, Spaude considers it to be a tougher matchup than perceived. He believes Du Plessis is difficult to read, appears unpolished but still manages to secure victories. As a testament to Strickland’s prowess, he is currently on a six-fight winning streak, coming off a Round 2 technical knockout victory against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.