While Dricus Du Plessis defended his title in style against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, there are still those who are not convinced he is the best middleweight mixed martial artist in the world. The reason for this lingering doubt? How he won his title.

The South African made history by becoming the first UFC champion of his country at UFC 297. The powerhouse faced then-champ Sean Strickland in an incredibly close contest this January and eked out a razor-thin split decision.

So close was their epic clash, in fact, that even UFC CEO Dana White admitted he thought ‘Tarzan’ won. Now, to remove all doubts about who the best middleweight in the world is, Dana White has announced that Du Plessis will rematch Strickland next.

However, former UFC heavyweight and podcaster Brendan Schaub thinks this is not a done deal. Speaking to his co-host Bryan Callen on their ‘The Fighter and the Kid’ podcast, ‘Bapa’ claimed that if Khamzat Chimaev beats former champion Robert Whittaker on their UFC 308 clash, ‘Borz’ may steal Strickland’s place as the number one contender against Du Plessis.

“So Dana said Strickland would be next. I [think] there’s a caveat with that. I think if Khamzat smokes Whittaker, Khamzat would get the shot,” Schaub said. He felt a Chimaev matchup would be better for Du Plessis since Strickland has already proven himself up to the task of facing ‘DDP’ and his relentless offense and legendary strength.

“I think Strickland’s a tougher matchup for him than Khamzat ‘cuz I think Khamzat will play the game with him I think Khamzat will trade with him,” Schaub said.

On being pressed by Callen to explain his reasoning further, the former fighter theorized that since Du Plessis was very strong and had excellent wrestling, he would be more than able to roll with ‘Borz’.

In addition, the stand-up comic felt that since Chimaev had a tendency for being hot-headed, he might actually try to go toe-to-toe with the champ, which is the champ’s strongest suit. Not to mention the fact that the Chechen had never actually fought more than three rounds in the UFC, the latter two rounds of a five-round championship will be a challenge for Chimaev.

“I think you’ll be surprised at his [Du Plessis’] wrestling. He’s a big, strong dude. And even though he got tired, fatigued quicker than Izzy [at UFC 305] did as the third, fourth rounds go on… Khamzat has never been in the fourth or fifth round… I just think there’s a lot more questions with Khamzat than with Strickland as far as deep waters go,” Schaub predicted. In sharp contrast, none of these were issues with Strickland.

There does seem to be a chance, albeit a small one that Strickland may not face Du Plessis next since the champ himself has made clear who he wants to fight next.

Du Plessis thinks a UFC 308 win should guarantee a Whittaker title shot

Dricus Du Plessis thinks Robert Whittaker has done more than Sean Strickland over the past year to deserve a title shot. The South African champ pointed out that Paulo Costa, whom both Strickland and Whittaker faced recently, was beaten more comprehensively by ‘Bobby Knuckles’, who then spectacularly knocked out Ikram Aliskerov in June.

Because of this, the South African feels that if Whittaker beats Chimaev on UFC 308, ‘The Reaper’ ought to get the title shot. Some may think that Du Plessis may be looking to get an easier matchup than Strickland by floating Whittaker’s name, especially since the latter was emphatically beaten by ‘DDP’ just last year.

However, Du Plessis has proven time and time again that he is up to any challenge put in front of him, and ducking is not really in character for him. It cannot, after all, be denied that if Whittaker wins in October, he will have done more than enough to earn himself a title shot.

But on the other hand, it does feel like Strickland and Du Plessis have some unfinished business because of how their first fight went. And Dana White, along with the rest of the UFC community, wants them to fight and remove any doubts about who deserves the title. Who do you think Dricus Du Plessis should fight next?