Dricus Du Plessis won’t entertain a title defense vs. Robert Whittaker if he gets past Khamzat Chimaev at UFC on ABC 6.
Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) takes on Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) on June 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in what’s expected to be a No. 1 contender bout at middleweight.
UFC middleweight champion Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is interested in Chimaev as a potential title challenger. But having already beaten Whittaker by TKO less than a year ago, Du Plessis wouldn’t be sold on him as his next opponent.
“Should he beat Whittaker, I would love to fight Khamzat,” Du Plessis told Fight Wave. “In my opinion, should Whittaker beat Khamzat, I don’t think it warrants him a title shot. Honestly, I would love to see him and Strickland fight it out for a No. 1 contender fight.”
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is expected to make his first title defense against Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), potentially Aug. 17 at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. South Africa’s only UFC champion ever says he’s been ready, and isn’t sure why the fight isn’t announced yet.
“Yeah for me, I’m in. I’m ready,” Du Plessis said. “I’ve agreed to everything, I’m ready, I want to do it. That’s the fight I want. I called him out after winning the belt and that’s the fight the fans want to see and at the end of the day, that’s the fight that I want to have, that’s the guy that I want to fight and for me, let’s just announce this thing. I don’t know what’s the hold up. I want it to be announced.
“I don’t know. I’ve said yes, 100 percent. I don’t know from his side. I don’t know what the story is. I don’t know what the hold up is. Maybe the UFC is waiting for something, I’m not sure. At the end of the day, I’ve agreed to it. If they had to phone me today and say we’re doing the Sean Strickland second fight, I’ll be like, ‘Great, let’s do it.’ If they say ‘No, we’re going to wait and do the Khamzat fight,’ great.”
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