Du Plessis: Chimaev getting title shot would make 'absolutely no sense'

The way Dricus Du Plessis sees it, Khamzat Chimaev won't be getting a crack at the middleweight title after UFC 297.

Du Plessis, who challenges Sean Strickland for the 185-pound belt on Jan. 20 in Toronto, doesn't think it would be logical for his first defense to come against Chimaev.

"As far as I know, Khamzat is a welterweight," Du Plessis told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn on Thursday. "What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight. ... Gerald Meerschaert. When was that? Where was he ranked? I don't even know. He wasn't ranked. In my opinion, that makes absolutely no sense."

After Chimaev beat former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 last October, UFC CEO Dana White said he planned to book a title fight between Strickland and Chimaev next. But it was later revealed Chimaev suffered a hand injury in the fight, and the promotion opted to give Du Plessis the title shot instead.

Du Plessis is ranked No. 2 in the division, whereas Chimaev - who recently threatened that he's "coming" for Strickland - sits at No. 9. Du Plessis was initially supposed to get a title shot last year against Israel Adesanya but was unable to take the fight due to an injury. Strickland stepped up in his place and dethroned Adesanya at UFC 293 in September.

"The UFC promised (Chimaev) a title fight? Where in the world does that happen?" Du Plessis said. "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 gonna get a title shot."

Du Plessis added that a first title defense against former two-time champ Adesanya "makes sense."

Adesanya-Du Plessis had been shaping up to be one of the biggest title fights of 2023, as the two middleweights went back and forth in the media several times and had a heated faceoff in the Octagon at UFC 290 in July.