Khamzat Chimaev Rallies for Sean Strickland’s Win Against Dricus Du Plessis as He Sets His Eyes for UFC 300

Jan 22, 2024 | 10:19 PM EST

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Khamzat Chimaev has recovered from his sickness and his injury and now, he wants that belt. And perhaps he rightfully should, he was promised a title opportunity on the other end of his Kamaru Usman fight if he won. And he did so. The decision win should have sealed his position as a title contender.

However, he had a torn hand ligament and was also sick afterwards the fight. In his absence, the title shot went to Dricus Du Plessis who managed to capitalize on it. Now, ‘Borz’ is back and he is hungry. Here’s his take on the UFC 297 bout and what he wants from the promotion next.

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Khamzat Chimaev is coming for the belt

Khamzat Chimaev was of the opinion that Sean Strickland won the UFC 297 finale.“For me Strickland won the fight but that was close fight for both,” he told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “Like first two rounds he (Strickland) won totally and like then second fight and fourth fight fourth round and they think the other guy won, last fight more I think Strickland won is how I think.”

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Clearly, he has his opinions in place. But more important is that Chimaev told Okamoto that he doesn’t see anything special in either of the fighters and can “finish” them. He later demanded the belt that he was promised by the UFC. “They promised me,” Chimaev claimed. “After Usman fight, you are for sure gonna fight for the title.”

So when Dana White said he had an announcement for Dricus Du Plessis’s first title defense on Tuesday, was it ‘Borz’ that he had in mind? There’s no one way to tell really. Du Plessis went inside the Octagon, won the belt and had Israel Adesanya’s name on his tongue.

He even mentioned Alex Pereira, a man who was seen circling the cage from Strickland’s corner. Unfortunately, for ‘Stillknocks’ or anyone in the middleweight division, ‘Poatan’ is out of reach. He is the light heavyweight champion of the UFC. And yet, Du Plessis thought of him and didn’t even mention Chimaev once.

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What if he doesn’t get the title shot?

If Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t get the title shot, he wants a big fight. In fact, he wants a fight so big that he gets “double money” out of it. And nothing less. It’s just the two things, a belt or about $2 million which is double his usual base salary.

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Does it look like he will get it? The UFC had certainly promised a title shot and ideally he should get it. It makes more sense given that Israel Adesanya has been talking about taking his break very seriously. He’s made no comments on his comeback and in fact, he has maintained that he’d like to sit back and relax a bit longer. This just clears the coast for ‘Borz’ to finally try and take over. Do you think he’ll get his shot?

Also Read: Has Dricus Du Plessis’ Win Landed the UFC in a Dilemma? Is Alex Pereira a Much Bigger Fight Than Israel Adesanya or Khamzat Chimaev for UFC 300?