Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312, despite expressing a preference for a fight with Khamzat Chimaev, who recently impressed with a win over Robert Whittaker.
Dricus du Plessis is eyeing a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev, even though he’s already got another fight lined up. The UFC recently announced that du Plessis (22-2) will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland (29-6) at UFC 312. This event is set for Feb. 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. It’s a rematch, as du Plessis narrowly defeated Strickland in their first encounter at UFC 297.
On Tuesday, du Plessis took to social media to explain his decision to rematch Strickland instead of facing the undefeated Chimaev. “Just for clarification,” he tweeted, “I preferred the Khamzat fight but the rematch is a fight most wanted before Khamzat vs Whittaker.” He added that he’s not upset with the UFC’s call and is ready to face whoever fans deem the next best contender.
While du Plessis and Strickland had a close battle in their initial meeting, an immediate rematch wasn’t initially planned. Du Plessis successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Meanwhile, Strickland maintained his position as a top contender by defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302. After these victories, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed plans for a du Plessis-Strickland rematch.
However, Chimaev threw a curveball into these plans with a spectacular first-round submission victory over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in October. This performance sparked calls from fans and fighters alike for Chimaev to receive the next middleweight title shot.
It’s still uncertain if Chimaev will face the winner of the UFC 312 main event or if he’ll need another fight to solidify his No. 1 contender status. After the announcement of his rematch with Strickland, du Plessis tweeted confidently: “This time they won’t call it a robbery; they’ll call it attempted murder.”
A poll asked who du Plessis should face next—Chimaev or Strickland? A whopping 75% of voters chose Chimaev, while only 24% backed Strickland, out of a total of 890 votes. Seems like fans have spoken!