Midnight Mania! Dricus Du Plessis denies ‘Welterweight’ Khamzat: ‘You’re not going to get a title shot’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There is no love lost between top-ranked Middleweight contenders Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. The two have been competing over the same title shot for quite some time, even prior to Sean Strickland’s upset win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. After some claims to the contrary, the dust has settled, and it will be Du Plessis fighting Strickland next weekend at UFC 297.

As for what’s next at 185-pounds, however? It’s widely assumed that Chimaev will receive the next opportunity at the belt once a winner is decided between Strickland and Du Plessis. If “Stillknocks” is the champion, however, he doesn’t intend on granting the Chechen talent a shot at his new belt.

According to Du Plessis, Chimaev hasn’t earned the shot. In fact, his resume barely qualifies him as a Middleweight at all! Chimaev’s only recent win at 185 lbs. is Kamaru Usman, the longtime Welterweight champion who accepted the bout on very short notice.

“As far as I know Khamzat’s a welterweight,” Du Plessis told MMA Junkie. “What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight (in Usman). Gerald Meerschaert? When was that? Was he even ranked? No, he wasn’t ranked. So, that makes absolutely no sense.

“The UFC promised him a title fight? Where in the world does that happen? And he says he’s fighting Strickland. No, you’re not. If there’s a champion, if you get a title shot, I’m the champion. You’re not going to get a title shot. And Israel Adesanya? That makes sense.”

It remains to be seen how the Middleweight division shakes out in the next couple weeks, but expect some chaos!

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 297 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNEWS at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 297: “Strickland vs. Du Plessis” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.