Dricus Du Plessis Puts Pressure on Dana White as Khamzat Chimaev Soon to Get Title Shot Despite ‘Unimpressive’ Performance Against Kamaru Usman

Khamzat Chimaev made his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 294. He defeated Kamaru Usman with a majority decision, which put him in line to get the next middleweight title shot. However, Dricus du Plessis wasn’t impressed with his performance and he took to social media to make his wish to be the next title contender known.

Israel Adesanya recently announced that he’d be taking a break from fighting following his loss to Sean Strickland. This opened the doors for other fighters. As such, it was later reported that the winner of the Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight would be next in line for a title shot. However, Dricus du Plessis is now adamant that he is the rightful challenger for the middleweight title. Let’s see what the situation is all about.

Dricus du Plessis rallies against Dana White for a title shot

People were expecting a dominant performance from Khamzat Chimaev against Kamaru Usman. However, the fight was rather closely contested, and the Emirati fighter could only secure a majority decision victory. This has led some fans to criticize the UFC’s decision to hand ‘Borz’ a title shot. One fan then made a comparison between Chimaev’s UFC 294 performance and Dricus du Plessis’ UFC 290 performance, which Du Plessis shared on his Instagram handle in a bid to change Dana White‘s mind.

The fan did not take a liking to Chimaev’s performance because his opponent was a welterweight fighter who fought in his first-ever middleweight fight. Moreover, ‘Borz’ could not even put up the performance that people expected from him. Meanwhile, Dricus du Plessis fought and defeated Robert Whittaker, a former champion, in fantastic fashion.

The fan wondered, “What’s more impressive? Barely pulling a decision win against a veteran fighter out of his prime fighting on a different weight class on 11 days’ notice or destroying the gatekeeper of the division when literally nobody gave you a chance?”

Moreover, that fan believes that there is no one more deserving of a title shot than Dricus du Plessis. “Guys please this isn’t even a debate. There’s only one man who deserves the next MW title shot [Dricus du Plessis],” he added. It is also important to note that the South African was always the first choice for the number one contender.

Initial plans had ‘Stillknocks’ fighting Israel Adesanya for the title

We all know by now that Israel Adesanya’s loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. However, before ‘Tarzan’ fought ‘The Last Stylebender’, it was supposed to be Dricus du Plessis’ opportunity. His win over Robert Whittaker and his highly intense feud with Adesanya made it clear that the title shot was his for the taking.

However, an unfortunate injury situation spoiled the chances of a possible title fight, and Strickland got handed the opportunity. And ‘Tarzan’ made full use of it and became a UFC champion for the first time in his career. That seemingly diminished all chances of du Plessis earning a title shot.

Read More: Despite His Loss To Khamzat Chimaev, “Champion” Kamaru Usman Leaves Legendary Boxing Trainer In Awe

Despite Khamzat Chimaev’s looking like the probable contender for the middleweight title, Dricus du Plessis believes it should be him. Not only him, but many fans have echoed the same sentiment. We will have to wait and see how the UFC will navigate that situation, and Dana White believes that du Plessis deserves the title shot against Sean Strickland.

What do you think? Would you like to see Dricus du Plessis fight for the title? Drop your comments below.

Watch This Story: Islam Makhachev Honored With An Inspiring Gesture From Dana White