Dricus Du Plessis, a top fighter in the queue of middleweight title challengers, expresses his lack of concern for the potential threat to his place in the lineup. In an Oct. 26 interview with Fox West Texas, he discussed Khamzat Chimaev’s performance during his UFC 294 fight against Kamaru Usman. Despite Chimaev’s dominant display in the first round, scoring 10-8 from all three judges, his subsequent performance waned due to fears of a broken right hand. The bout ended in a tightly contested majority decision, with Chimaev reportedly suffering a torn hand ligament. Du Plessis examines this event with heightened interest due to the potential implications on his own career path.
This personal interest stems from a series of comments by UFC CEO Dana White, who indicated that the winner of the fight was to challenge the current middleweight champion, Sean Strickland. Strickland had dethroned Israel Adesanya just the previous month at UFC 293, and the upset was all the more shocking due to his last-minute replacement of Du Plessis, who was unable to participate due to a foot injury. Upon learning of Chimaev’s injury, Du Plessis compared it to his own and suggested that if Chimaev wasn’t ready to fight soon, he should relinquish his title shot.
Du Plessis shared his perspective on his standing in the division and future plans, regardless of whether Chimaev is slotted for a title fight or not. With disappointment over missed opportunities behind him, he confidently stated, “Right now, I’m not going to beg for any title shot. I’ve never begged for anything, I’ve fought for it.” This determination fuels his ambition to conquer the top five in his division, and potentially ease a move to the light heavyweight division in the future.
The fighter, age 29, also voiced his criticism of Chimaev’s performance at UFC 294. According to Du Plessis, he saw nothing in the undefeated Chechen-born Swede’s performance that would suggest a threat to the title. He dismissively commented, “If you want to give Khamzat the title shot, go right ahead. Because Khamzat that fought this weekend loses to Sean Strickland every day of the week.”