Khamzat Chimaev may have believed he had the upper hand when he publicly criticized Dricus Du Plessis for their supposed UFC 317 fight falling through, but the reigning middleweight champion wouldn’t have it. Chimaev, never one to hold back, went on X and slammed Du Plessis after allegations of an injury, calling him the “biggest bulls—.” The jab sparked a new war of words online, reigniting tensions that had been building since the two were originally linked for International Fight Week in June. But ‘Stillknocks’ struck back with cold, hard facts. So, what did he say?

The South African did more than just defend himself; he turned the tables on ‘Borz’ by presenting a clear comparison of their activity over the last 2.5 years. While Du Plessis has fought six times, including three championship fights, Khamzat Chimaev has only appeared in the Octagon three times. Even more damning, the South African fighter stated that, while he has never pulled out of a fight in that time, Chimaev has had three fights called off due to injury, illness, or weight difficulties.  Amid all the online chaos, Du Plessis raised an important question that could completely change the narrative.

“Question is was the fight signed?” He wrote on X, implying that an official agreement was never in existence to begin with. His remark calls Chimaev’s fury into question, saying that the number one contender for the title is just creating unnecessary drama over a fight that has yet to be finalized. Meanwhile, head honcho Dana White and the UFC are yet to confirm whether the match-up was set before the injury rumors emerged.

Other middleweights are already circling while the headliner for International Fight Week remains undetermined. Caio Borralho, rated sixth, stated that Chimaev accepted to fight him in an interim title contest. Though Chimaev brushed him off with a brutal social media takedown—claiming he’d “never win” even in 100 fights—the possibility of a replacement bout is gathering traction. Until Dricus Du Plessis is medically cleared or the UFC makes a formal statement, the middleweight title situation will remain as unclear as ever. So, what’s next for Chimaev? Will ‘Borz’ go one-on-one against Borralho? Well, if he does, it can be a one-sided bout. At least that’s what it looks like from sparring footage that resurfaced online.

Sparring footage of Khamzat Chimaev and Caio Borralho re-emerges online

As fans speculated about an interim title fight, Khamzat Chimaev pulled an old clip from his training collection, possibly to convey a statement louder than words. The unearthed footage was from UFC 279 fight week, when both men were just gaining traction in their respective divisions. The short footage, taken during a ‘shark tank’ session at the UFC Performance Institute, shows Chimaev in complete control, wrestling Caio Borralho to the ground and giving out some verbal jabs in the process. While the footage is brief, the tone it establishes is clear—’Borz’ sees himself as a mentor-turned-tormentor.

It’s one thing to single out an unbeaten powerhouse like Chimaev. It’s another thing to have your previous training sessions aired out like laundry. Borralho didn’t back down, though. Despite the clip showing him being outmuscled, he remained confident, asking the UFC to “sign the contract.” There’s something captivating about a fighter who doesn’t flinch in the face of public humiliation, even when his competitor is busy saying, “If we fight a hundred times, you will never win.” ‘The Natural,’ whether through defiance or delusion, certainly believes he is not the same fighter he was in 2022—and maybe that’s the intrigue here.

However, the visual narrative favors Khamzat Chimaev. Regardless of how it is edited, the sparring tape shows dominance rather than balance. And while Borralho only had an advantage in a two-on-one drill with a coach, the visuals don’t lie. However, fights are not won in training rooms, and ‘The Natural’ understands this better than most. If the UFC goes ahead with this matchup, that old footage may serve as the prelude to a far more exciting chapter—one written under the lights, with actual gold on the line. What do you think? Who will win the fight between the two? Let us know in the comments.