UFC’s middleweight division, especially the top of the division is absolutely stacked at the moment. With a veritable surfeit of title contenders and challengers, this is a very exciting time for the division. Tomorrow night, reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis will face former champ Israel Adesanya on top of UFC 305 in Perth, Australia in his first title defense.

After which there are a handful of top-ranked fighters who have a claim to a title shot, including Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker, and even Khamzat Chimaev, who admittedly, is a dark horse. However, should ‘DDP’ manage to get over ‘Izzy’ on Saturday, there is another riveting matchup that has generated some serious buzz recently- a fight with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

What are the chances of a next Dricus Du Plessis vs. Islam Makhachev bout?

Islam Makhachev wants desperately to become a two-division champion. The lightweight champion was so hooked by the euphoria and high he got when he became the champ at UFC 280 two years ago, that he has been chasing that same feeling ever since. For this, he has repeatedly said he wants to move up one weight class and fight for the welterweight title.

But, with his ‘brother’ Belal Muhammad becoming the 170-pound champ last month, this door is closed. As long as ‘Bully B’ is the champ, at least. But the Dagestani champ seemingly has a Plan B to scratch the double-champ itch- move two weight classes to fight for the middleweight title.

Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez had recently floated the idea that his fighter may look to move up to the 185-pound division and face whoever the champ there is. Right now that is Dricus Du Plessis. And the South African is game, having said that he wasn’t one to say no, even as he warned Makhachev that he was “very big” for him.

This, of course, means that if Du Plessis were to retain his title this Saturday, there is a chance he would fight Islam Makhachev next. However, UFC CEO Dana White is famously flaky about champions wanting to move up, and will not be too happy with Makhachev’s idea, especially since he has only fought one lightweight since becoming champion.

While there is a very slim chance that Makhachev will be allowed to move up not one but two weight classes right away, there is still a chance. Now let us look at which middleweight has the best claim to being ‘DDP’s next opponent.

Why Strickland, Whittaker, and Chimaev have a claim to fighting the winner of ‘DDP’-‘Izzy’?

Without a doubt, Sean Strickland is the best candidate for a title shot next. ‘Tarzan’, of course, dropped the title he had wrested off of Israel Adesanya last year to Dricus Du Plessis on UFC 297 this January. However, the fight was the definition of a close fight. While ‘DDP’ eked out a split decision, it could as well have been awarded to ‘Tarzzan’. Even Dana White, on the post-fight press conference, felt that Strickland had won.

After Strickland, another former champion can make a convincing case to face the winner of Adesanya-Du Plessis. A resurgent Robert ‘Reaper’ Whittaker, is having something of a renaissance in his career, and coming off impressive wins over Paulo Costa and a knockout of Ikram Aliskerov this year alone.

While there is not much chance of him being next for a title shot, Khamzat Chimaev’s name also warrants mentioning. ‘Borz’, of course, was the official number one title contender coming out of his UFC 294 victory over Kamaru Usman last year. While he had to turn down a title shot this January due to his persistent health issues, and the division moved on without him, he does still have a case. It may not be a very convincing case, but he does have a case nonetheless.