The middleweight division is abuzz with excitement at Khamzat Chimaev occupying the #3 spot on the rankings after his first-round submission over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. Despite all his woes outside the Octagon with his health issues, ‘Borz’ had a rallying comeback in his last appearance that has offset the trajectory of Sean Strickland’s bid to a title fight rematch with champion Dricus du Plessis. It seems like even Jon Anik, who acknowledged Strickland’s position in the rankings, is inclined to a title fight featuring ‘Borz’ and ‘Stillknocks’.

The Chechen-born mixed martial artist seems to be as dominant as people touted him to be initially, and is growing into his hype. So much so, that UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik feels now is. the perfect moment to line him up against the South African champion. “My dream matchup right now is Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus du Plessis,” said Anik on ‘The Huddle’, via Odds Shark’s Instagram page.

He further added, “I’m not sure that we can put together a more interesting championship matchup right now. And with respect to Sean Strickland, who is a most deserving number one contender and former champion, I think Khamzat Chimaev really upset the apple cart with what he did against Robert Whittaker. So, that’s the fight that I would like to see.”

Khamzat Chimaev is confident he can upset Dricus Du Plessis if they squared off, particularly with the way both of them handled Robert Whittaker inside the Octagon. While both fighters finished ‘The Reaper’, it took ‘DDP’ two rounds to finish the Australian ex-champ but Chimaev took all of only 3 minutes and 34 seconds to take Whittaker down and submit him via an RNC face crank. “How I did with this guy, Rob, and how he [has] done? Rob took him down, so if Rob took him down, there is Salamalaikum [from me].” said Chimaev in a conversation with the media at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference.

While ‘Borz’ seems ready to face just about anyone the UFC puts ahead of him, what does the divisional champion think about facing the Chechen-born, UAE-based athlete? Well, the South African Dricus du Plessis isn’t one to back away from a challenge, no matter how scary. Let’s see what the middleweight champion had to say.

Dricus du Plessis wants Khamzat Chimaev for next fight

Dricus du Plessis had his first title defense against arguably the toughest puzzle in the division, i.e., Israel Adesanya. Beating Adesanya, skill-for-skill, is no small feat and speaks volumes of the skill set of the champion, regardless of his awkward fighting style. While Dana White has touted Sean Strickland as the next title contender, Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant UFC 309 showing may have thrown a wrench in those plans. Furthermore, ‘Stillknocks’ seems more inclined to test himself against Chimaev than a contender he already beat to win the middleweight title.

While having a conversation with ESPN, Dricus du Plessis emphasized that fans want to see him fight Khamzat Chimaev next, over Sean Strickland, “The conversations [have been] more about me fighting Strickland. But there was a very big reason no contracts have been signed, and I’m saying this as an opinion. I agreed that I’ll fight Strickland, perfect – and that’s the fight the fans want. But if you go on what the fans want right now, it’s definitely not the Strickland fight,” said Du Plessis.

He further added, “If you ask what I want, I want to fight the best guy. I want to fight the guy the fans want me to fight. And that’s 100 percent Khamzat.” A battle between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev would, no doubt, be one of the biggest fights the UFC middleweight division has seen in recent memory.

Which matchup do you want to see? Is is Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland or du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.