Brett Okamoto, ESPN Personnel Essayist
Undefeated UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev stated he noticed “nothing special” right through Saturday’s name struggle between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland and is able to jerk the belt from Du Plessis at UFC 300 in April.
Chimaev (13-0) hasn’t fought since he defeated former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in October. The 29-year-old suffered a torn ligament in his hand right through that struggle and stated he got here i’m sick with a lung problem in a while that hospitalized him for a month. He has since returned to coaching in Dubai, on the other hand, and is keen to accumulation a name struggle.
“For me, Strickland won the fight, but it was a close fight,” Chimaev instructed ESPN on Monday. “But [it was] nothing special. Nothing that made me think these guys are somebody. I see I can finish them both … I go to a fight, I always try to finish somebody. I didn’t see one of them going crazy trying to finish. They were both going for five rounds.”
Du Plessis, of South Africa, defeated Strickland via crack resolution in an overly aggressive struggle. Strickland has since stated he believes he received, and {that a} head-butt from Du Plessis halfway in the course of the bout is the one reason why he misplaced a unmarried spherical. UFC CEO Dana White stated he additionally scored the bout for Strickland, however he does no longer intend to accumulation an instantaneous rematch.
Ahead of Chimaev’s win over Usman, White had stated a win would earn Chimaev a name shot. That speak has cooled, on the other hand, and Du Plessis referred to as out former champion Israel Adesanya on Saturday. Adesanya has taken a fracture from the game since he misplaced the 185-pound name to Strickland at UFC 293 however has expressed pastime in dealing with Du Plessis. Chimaev stated he’ll be disillusioned and shocked if the UFC does no longer put him in a name struggle in his after look.
“All these guys have fought each other, and only me is undefeated, undisputed,” Chimaev stated. “They promised me, after the Usman fight, I will for sure fight for the title. I won that fight, so I don’t know what’s going on. I heard Dana White say, ‘I don’t think Khamzat is next for the title.’ That’s bulls—, man. If you promise me something, you have to answer it.
“In my thoughts, it will have to be me. I requested [UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell] to let me struggle at UFC 300. We’ll see what they are saying.”
Chimaev has defeated the likes of Usman, Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland in his past three appearances, but he’s been relatively inactive in recent years and has not faced any top-10 middleweight in the UFC. The Chechen fighter said that’s not his fault, as he was expected to face Paulo Costa in October, before Costa withdrew and was replaced by Usman.
He missed weight for what would have been a very high-profile welterweight fight against Nate Diaz in 2022 and has since stated he took the 170-pound fight on too short notice to safely make the weight. He pointed out that Costa, who fought for a UFC championship in 2020, has had issues with weight that don’t get brought up as frequently as his one miss.
“Ask [the UFC], after I’m wholesome and in just right surrounding, after I’m coaching, they know what I stated,” Chimaev said. “It’s no longer my issues. I’ve by no means had any issues. I’m in a position. I don’t know why they’re ready [to book me a fight].”
