Middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis’ next fight will be against Khamzat Chimaev according to Dana White, but it won’t be at UFC 317.
“We all know that fight’s happening,” White said at the UFC On ESPN 66 post-fight press conference.
“The du Plessis vs. Khamzat fight, it’s happening. It’s just not happening in International Fight Week…
“That fight’s done.”
The news was also confirmed by DDP’s coach, Morne Visser.
“No injuries man, that’s bulls—t,” Morne Visser told Submission Radio. “We’re fighting Khamzat. We’re actually waiting for the contract, so it’s gonna be soon. Definitely not gonna be International Fight Week, they’ve got something else planned for that. I’m sure everybody knows about what they’ve got planned. [That’s] also not 100% confirmed, but we’re fighting Khamzat, waiting for the contract, it’s a done deal.”
It seemed inevitable that Khamzat would one day fight for a title, but it’s taken longer than most would have expected when the star first put himself firmly on the UFC map with a whirlwind three-fight winning streak in the space of two months back in 2020.
Injuries and ailments have led to Khamzat fighting far less frequently in the years since though, but when he has made the walk to the Octagon he has continued to maintain his unbeaten record, adding a further five victories to extend his overall career run to 14-0.
And that includes his last two fights up at middleweight where he beat former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by majority decision in October of 2023, followed by a 1st round submission win over ex-champion Robert Whittaker a year later.
Khamzat, who will turn 30-years-old later this week, will now get his chance to fight for a title against the 31-year-old du Plessis, who is looking for the third successful defense of the belt.
In total du Plessis’s UFC winning streak extends to nine fights, including a TKO victory over Robert Whittaker to earn a title shot, then beating Sean Strickland by split-decision last year to win the belt, before making his first defense by submitting Israel Adesanya and then most recently beating Strickland on the scorecards in their rematch back in February.
