Dricus du Plessis has publicly advised the UFC to avoid booking what he describes as a 'ridiculous' fight for Khamzat Chimaev's return to competition. The middleweight champion weighed in on how the promotion should handle Chimaev's comeback matchmaking.
Dricus du Plessis has gone on record urging the UFC not to book what he called a "ridiculous" fight for Khamzat Chimaev as the top-ranked middleweight prepares to return to competition. The reigning champion made his position on Chimaev's comeback matchmaking publicly known, signaling that he is watching the promotion's decisions closely.
Du Plessis, ranked second in the middleweight division and seventh in the pound-for-pound standings, carries a professional record of 23-3-0. The 32-year-old South African trains out of Team CIT and fights out of a switch stance, standing six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach. He lands 5.18 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy and also threatens on the ground, averaging 2.22 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Chimaev enters his return as the number-one ranked middleweight and sits tenth in the pound-for-pound rankings. The 32-year-old, who represents the United Arab Emirates and trains at Allstars Training Center, holds a 15-1-0 record. Standing six-foot-two with a 75-inch reach, Chimaev is among the division's most dangerous grapplers, averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and 1.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes. He also connects at a 60 percent striking accuracy rate, the highest of the two fighters.
Why it matters
- Chimaev is the top-ranked middleweight contender, making his return fight a direct factor in title picture clarity
- Du Plessis holds the belt and has a vested interest in who Chimaev faces and how his ranking is affected
- A matchup between the two would pit a high-volume switch-stance striker against one of the division's elite wrestlers and submission threats
