According to Khamzat Chimaev, if he doesn’t get the first crack at Dricus du Plessis following the new champ’s title win at UFC 297 this past Saturday, the UFC CEO will have some explaining to so.
“Who else is going to fight him,” Chimaev told ESPN. “Israel is out [he said] until 2027. All of these guys fought each other. It’s only me who is undefeated and undisputed, so I don’t know. They promised me after the Usman fight that [I] will for sure fight for the title, and I won that fight. I don’t know what’s going on.
“I heard Dana White said that, ‘I don’t think Khamzat is next for the title,’ that’s the bulls***, man.”
Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland in a razor close middleweight title fight at the promotion’s first pay-per-view event of 2024. Following the event, White as mum on plans for du Plessis, and whether or not he could turn around for UFC 300 in April against Chimaev, and former two-time champ and heated rival Israel Adesanya.
Chimaev revealed recently that he had a health scare following his UFC 294 win over Kamaru Usman and was “very sick,” along with the hand injury suffered in the October fight. At the UFC 297 post-fight press conference, White was asked about Chimaev’s health status, and while he seemingly didn’t rule out Chimaev getting a title shot, the UFC CEO didn’t seem to believe “Borz” would be ready for UFC 300.
“I know he was very, very sick, and I know he’s getting better, but I don’t know if he’s fight-at-300 better,” White said. “We’ll see.”
Chimaev says that if the opportunity arises to fight at the historic April 13 event in Las Vegas, he will be ready to go, and if that phone doesn’t ring, he’ll be plenty surprised.
“If you promised me something, you have to answer for your words, and I’m the guy who always answers for my words,” Chimaev explained. “I don’t care if it’s some president, or a king, if you give me [your] word, you have to answer for that.
“I will be surprised if that happens — if somebody fights [for the title] next, and not me. We’ll see, I didn’t talk with Dana, and I don’t know what he’s thinking. He knows better than me.
“In my mind, it should be me,” Chimaev continued. “I asked Hunter [Campbell] to let me fight at UFC 300, so we’ll see what they say.
“[I asked him] before [UFC 297]. I was sick before, and they were asking me during that time and [I told my] manager to let me be healthy first. When I felt my health was good, and I was in the gym training, it was the right time. So I will be ready [for UFC 300] if they give me the fight.”
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