SUMMARY
- Khamzat Chimaev sends warnings to UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus Du Plessis.
- Chimaev even mocked the South African Du Plessis on X.
Khamzat Chimaev is preparing to fight the UFC middleweight title bout winner between champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus Du Plessis. Chimaev mocked both fighters on his X account and further ridiculed the South African fighter.
Initially, Chimaev posted about both Strickland and Du Plessis thinking about him even though their fight was approaching soon. He wrote, “They have a fight soon, but they both think about me, I didn’t know that I was scaring them so much…”
they have a fight soon, but they both think about me, I didn’t know that I was scaring them so much 🤦🏻♂️🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) January 14, 2024
Minutes later, in another post on X, Chimaev uploaded a picture of him holding a supposedly dead rabbit in one hand and a gun in the other hand. He captioned the post, “Dipilsi”. The Chechen-born fighter mocked the #1 contender who believes Chimaev does not deserve a title fight.
While speaking with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie recently, Du Plessis said, “As far as I know Khamzat’s a welterweight. What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight [Kamaru 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?”
On the other hand, Strickland echoed similar views a few months ago after Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman. Strickland was not impressed by Chimaev’s performance at UFC 294. ‘Borz’ defeated Usman via unanimous decision after ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ took the middleweight bout on short notice.
Well, it looks like @SStricklandMMA is ready for a matchup with Khamzat! #UFC294
Didn’t hold back and we wouldn’t expect him to. #ExtraRounds from the @PBR Teams Championship. pic.twitter.com/uuQPRVkOzD
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 22, 2023
Strickland said during UFC Fight Pass, “He hasn’t earned it, doesn’t f**king deserve it, but here we are… But no, he has not earned it. He doesn’t f**king deserve it.”
Chimaev was announced as the #1 contender for the title after his win over Usman. He is expecting his title shot to come soon.
Khamzat Chimaev expects a title shot against the winner of Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis
Following his victory against Usman, Chimaev complained about an injury on his hand. He feared he suffered severe damage on it during the fight. Later, Chimaev opened up about his sufferings after the UFC 294 fight. He posted pictures about the damage and recovery on social media. However, he is now ready to get back in the Octagon and hopes to fight for the title.
Upon being asked by Mohammed Hijab if he has a title shot awaiting him, he said, “One hundred percent… He [Strickland] has a good fighter who he’s fighting with, Du Plessis, and if he wins against this guy, for sure we’re going to fight 100 percent. They promised for me that fight, so now we’re going to wait who’s winning the fight and then take the belt.”
Strickland will defend his title against Du Plessis at the first PPV of the year, UFC 297. The event takes place on January 20, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.
