Dricus du Plessis is no longer the UFC Middleweight Champion.
Before UFC 319, many considered him to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in the entire promotion. Plessis got strong wins over Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya; these were well respected 185 Champions. Plessis even had an undefeated streak going within the UFC.
But Khamzat Chimaev was a beast on Saturday night. He came in on Saturday and wrestled circles around Khamzat. It was a shocking dominance from the man who is now the UFC Middleweight Champion. But despite the dominant performance from Chimaev, Plessis wasn’t afraid to give the man his props for such a strong showing at UFC 319.
“The man has incredible control on the top,” Plessis said during the post fight interview. “He was just like a blanket. It wasn’t a matter of strength, it wasn’t that physical, it was just almost as if he knew what your next move was going to be. He got it without using too much power and I had to decide am I going to be on my back or have him on my back? At the end, I went for it, had the back, I could almost taste that victory.”
Plessis isn’t giving up on getting a rematch against Chimaev. He promises that he’ll be back for what’s his.
“But big ups to Khamzat, he deserves this, 100 percent,” Plessis said. “He beat me fair and square tonight, he was the better man tonight, and I’ll be back. I’m coming to get my belt back. For now, it’s his and he deserves it.”
So who’s the next challenger for Khamzat Chimaev?
It’s still too early to tell who will fight the new UFC Middleweight Champion. There’s Nassourdine Imavov, who’s ranked at No. 2 in the division. Anthony Hernandez just soundly beat the former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker, so he’s also a possibility. Though Sean Strickland is behind Nassourdine in the rankings; that match-up is unlikely since Strickland is coming of a big loss to Plessis.
A challenger for Chimaev may not be clear, but a date could be. Dana White revealed that Chimaev could fight at UFC 321.
And the UFC Middleweight Champion doesn’t seem to mind (Transcript courtesy of Bloody Elbow).
“I hope there is no injury and nothing happens in the fight, so I can fight in Abu Dhabi,” Chimaev told the media during an open workout in the lead-up to UFC 319. “Maybe defend the belt, maybe fight someone else.
“[My inactivity] wasn’t my bad or my fault. Everyone knows I didn’t have a visa to the United States, that’s why I didn’t fight. That’s why I only fought one in Abu Dhabi. Now, Donald Trump here, so we go for fights.”
Stay tuned for what’s next!