Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev ought to be the following man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.
‘Borz’ made a fairly compelling case at UFC 308, scoring a quickfire submission victory over Whittaker. With the win, Chimaev moved to the No. 3 spot within the 185-pound rankings and seems to be nicely on his solution to his first title alternative contained in the Octagon.
Nevertheless, the unbeaten Chechen monster could also be ready a bit after UFC CEO Dana White promised Sean Strickland the following title shot.
“Sure, [Strickland is still next],” White instructed reporters at a DWCS press convention in October.
White’s feedback got here weeks earlier than Chimaev dropped jaws along with his first-round neck-crank end in opposition to ‘The Reaper’ in Abu Dhabi, main many to counsel that ‘Borz’ be allowed to skip the road and stroll straight right into a scrap with ‘Stillknocks.’
Showing on the MMArcade podcast with Jonny Roses, Whittaker echoed that very same sentiment.
“I feel [Khamzat] ought to go straight to Dricus,” Whittaker stated. “I don’t assume sitting out ought to be rewarded, ever.”
Khamzat Chimaev prone to face winner of ‘dDP’ vs. Strickland 2 as a substitute of leaping the road
Following his win in opposition to Paulo Costa at UFC 302, Strickland made it clear that he deliberate to take a seat on the sidelines and look ahead to a rematch with Du Plessis. Clearly, Whittaker just isn’t of fan of that technique, however you’ll be able to’t actually blame Strickland for not wanting to place his spot on the entrance of the road at stake — particularly after White confirmed he’s subsequent.
No official date for ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 has been locked down. Initially, the promotion had hoped to take the sequel scrap to Du Plessis’ house nation, South Africa. Sadly, it seems like that’s not the case after White indicated points with locking down a venue.
Regardless of the place Du Plessis and Strickland determine to run it again, Khamzat Chimaev might be watching and ready.
