Dricus Du Plessis will run back his incredibly close UFC 297 title clash with Sean Strickland in February 2025. After all, ‘DDP’ won a controversial split decision (which even Dana White thought ‘Tarzan’ had won) to become the promotion’s first-ever South African champion. Predictably, there have been calls for a rematch ever since.

But that is not the fight fans want to see anymore. In fact, most fans want ‘Stillknocks’ to take on the undefeated boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev next, mostly because that scrap promises to be much more exciting. While Strickland-Du Plessis 1 was razor close, it was not very action-packed, mostly because of ‘Tarzan’s point-fighting style. In sharp contrast, Chimaev, who is probably the best wrestler in the division, tries to end his opponents, not just the fight, right from the first bell.

One need look no further than ‘Borz’s latest, UFC 308 clash against Robert Whittaker as evidence. But despite Chimaev’s wrestling advantage compared to the champ, Kamaru Usman doesn’t think the native Chechen could finish the job. “I think he can keep him down, but I don’t know if he can get the finish because Dricus is very, very tough. There’s a reason Dricus is the champ,” Usman said on his ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast.

Du Plessis, indeed, is ‘very very tough’, and has a knack for winning fights out of nowhere from losing positions, with his gas tank seemingly empty, as he did against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Not to mention, the South African is strong as a bull and has a nightmarish ability to mesh schoolyard bully spazzy arm swinging with sublime technique. While this may not seem pleasant to the eye but is extremely effective. However, there is also a chance that Chimaev doesn’t even fight Du Plessis, or any other middleweight next.

What is next for Khamzat Chimaev?

Who will light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, the biggest star in the promotion right now, fight next? We don’t know, but it might be Khamzat Chimaev. At least that is what the rumor is. This was evident with Alex Pereira’s recent meeting with the UFC’s top brass in Las Vegas which resulted in him posting a joyous story on Instagram. While this has not been confirmed yet, the potential matchup has caught the fans’ attention.

Especially because the bout would be an intriguing stylistic matchup of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. ‘Poatan’, after all, is as pure a striker as they come, while Chimaev is an absolute fiend on the ground. But since many feel a fight between the two is a bit too far-fetched at the moment, let us discuss what could be next for Chimaev at middleweight.

Most would say Chimaev will fight the winner of Du Plessis-Strickland 2 in a well-deserved title shot next. On the other hand, there is also a possibility that ‘Borz’ fights Israel Adesanya in an official #1 title contender bout before that. ‘Izzy’, of course, is set to fight Nassourdine Imavov on February 1, and will be back in the title picture if he wins that fight.

Since this is the fight business, and a Chimaev-Adesanya clash would be a bigger, more commercially successful fight than ‘Borz’ fighting Strickland or Du Plessis for the title, there is a distinct possibility that Adesanya is next for Chimaev. What do you think about Kamaru Usman’s take on the Du Plessis-Chimaev matchup?