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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
Undefeated UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev said he saw “nothing special” during Saturday’s title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland and is ready to take 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 during that fight and said he came down with a lung infection afterward that hospitalized him for a week. He has since returned to training in Dubai, however, and is eager to book a title fight.
“For me, Strickland won the fight, but it was a close fight,” Chimaev told 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 by split decision in a very competitive fight. Strickland has since said he believes he won, and that a head-butt from Du Plessis midway through the bout is the only reason he lost a single round. UFC CEO Dana White said he also scored the bout for Strickland, but he does not intend to book an immediate rematch.
Before Chimaev’s win over Usman, White had said a win would earn Chimaev a title shot. That talk has cooled, however, and Du Plessis called out former champion Israel Adesanya on Saturday. Adesanya has taken a break from the sport since he lost the 185-pound title to Strickland at UFC 293 but has expressed interest in facing Du Plessis. Chimaev said he will be disappointed and surprised if the UFC does not put him in a title fight in his next appearance.
“All these guys have fought each other, and only me is undefeated, undisputed,” Chimaev said. “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 mind, it should be me. I asked [UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell] to let me fight at UFC 300. We’ll see what they say.”
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], when I’m healthy and in good shape, when I’m training, they know what I said,” Chimaev said. “It’s not my problems. I’ve never had any problems. I’m ready. I don’t know why they are waiting [to book me a fight].”