SUMMARY
- Khamzat Chimaev was 'promised' a UFC Middleweight title fight after his win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
- Dana White backtracked on his promise according to Chimaev.
Undefeated UFC Middleweight fighter Khamzat Chimaev is still waiting for his title shot. Reports suggested that the winner of Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 would face Sean Strickland – then UFC Middleweight champion – next. Following Chimaev’s victory over Usman, ‘Borz’ took a break due to injury. Meanwhile, Strickland was announced to defend his title against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297.
After 5 rounds @DricusDuPlessis gets the split decision and is YOUR NEW middleweight champion 🏆#UFC297 pic.twitter.com/xyR1Bsn2Fa
— UFC (@ufc) January 21, 2024
The UFC Middleweight title was on the line this past weekend at UFC 297 in Canada. Strickland and du Plessis went five rounds to determine the winner on decision. Stillknocks managed the win via split decision and became the first South African-born UFC champion.
In his post-fight Octagon interview, du Plessis was asked who he would face next. Chimaev was completely ignored as du Plessis mentioned former middleweight champions Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
Khamzat Chimaev calls out Dana White for backtracking on his ‘promise’
In a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Chimaev expressed his displeasure with UFC CEO Dana White. He explained how he was promised a title fight after defeating Usman but did not get it.
Khamzat Chimaev calls out Dana White for not keeping his word after promising him a title shot.
“They promised me, after the Usman fight you will for sure fight for the title, and I won that fight.
I heard Dana White say ‘I don’t think Khamzat next for the title’. That’s… pic.twitter.com/F2LW5IovqG
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 22, 2024
He said, “All these guys have fought each other, and only me is undefeated, undisputed… They promised me, after the Usman fight, I will for sure fight for the title. I won that fight, so I don’t know what’s going on. I heard Dana White say, ‘I don’t think Khamzat is next for the title.’ That’s bulls—, man. If you promise me something, you have to answer it.”
Chimaev has called out both Strickland and du Plessis since before UFC 297. On the other hand, both Strickland du Plessis have claimed that Chimaev does not deserve a title fight.
Chimaev wants to fight Dricus du Plessis for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 300
In the same interview, Chimaev claimed that Strickland won the UFC 297 fight according to him. “For me, Strickland won the fight, but it was a close fight,” Chimaev told ESPN. “But [it was] nothing special. Nothing that made me think these guys are somebody. I see I can finish them both … I go to a fight, I always try to finish somebody, I didn’t see one of them going crazy trying to finish. They were both going for five rounds.”
A former Swedish national wrestling champion, Chimaev has confidence in his ability to finish. The Chechen-born fighter is 13-0 in pro-MMA with 11 finishes (6 KO & 5 submissions). His two decision wins came against Gilbert Burns at UFC 274 and Usman at UFC 294. He will, however, have a tough time against du Plessis if the match takes place.
See you soon biplisi ufc300 🫡
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) January 21, 2024
Right after du Plessis’s win, Chimaev took to X to book him for UFC 300. He wrote, “See you soon biplisi [du Plessis] ufc300”
During his interview with ESPN as well, he claimed, “In my mind, it should be me. I asked [UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell] to let me fight at UFC 300. We’ll see what they say.”
The UFC Middleweight division has seen four different champions in the past 15 months and no successful title defenses. With fighters like Chimaev and Adesanya still in the mix, the division will keep getting better.