Fan-favorite fight involving Khamzat Chimaev at risk according to ‘King of Violence’

Khamzat Chimaev, touted the No. 1 UFC middleweight contender, was billed as being afraid of Dricus Du Plessis PPV title fight challenge.

Fan-favorite fight involving Khamzat Chimaev at risk according to ‘King of Violence’

Khamzat Chimaev could be staggering from a Dricus Du Plessis challenge (Source: X/IMAGO)

Wild brawler vs. wild scrambler had been the way to go for what-if fights since 2024. Speaking of which, a possible Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis PPV title scrap is still not official yet. Du Plessis, current champ at 185-pounds, welcomed the challenge. Khamzat Chimaev has had his promise as top seed of gold thrice now. However, the brass is seemingly not leaning that way.

The Chechen wolf would cement the status with a first-round submission over Robert Whittaker. Ever since, this has been the fight to make. Recently, Chimaev’s talent manager Rassoul Chamsoudinov riled up fans teasing a future UFC Pay-Per-View event involving the two. So what could be the actual holdup? ‘King of Violence’ Mike Perry has thought it out, and hurled some concerning accusations.

I think DDP wins if they fight, …which…its hard to say they even will fight. I don’t see Khamzat Chimaev taking a fight that he doesn’t see himself having the ability to win…I see that him and his team will pick their fights very carefully.

Mike Perry on Helen Yee Sports YT Channel (🎥: @HelenYeeSports)
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Chimaev is wildly infamous for his explosive TD attempts and hard scrambles on the mat. Someone like Whittaker, a master of spatial management and closing in, could not answer back. However, ‘Borz’ has had his camp issues of falling sick and not performing to his fullest. The Chechen fighter often provoked the thought of not going beyond the first few frames in a fight.

Meanwhile, Dricus Du Plessis and his awkward, berserker of a charging style can hang around all day. It has already run through two former champs. The Afrikaner trailed behind an underdog on the opening odds. Chimaev opened up a moderate -200 betting favorite to beat DDP, per SportsBetting.ag. However, Perry thinks the fighter knows the challenges and is avoiding them until he deems it right. Others have voiced for this title fight as well.

One prominent MMA head found it odd that Khamzat Chimaev yet to be booked for PPV title fight

Chimaev did it against Gilbert Burns in what UFC commentator Jon Anik thought would make a fine scrap in a HOF wing someday. He had his promise of gold back then. Borz again did it rather gassed out against a short-notice Kamaru Usman. He once again had his promise of gold. He would finally seal it at the UFC 308 PPV co-headliner in October against Whittaker.

UFC analyst finds it odd top contender Khamzat Chimaev is not challenging for gold yet
UFC analyst finds it odd top contender Khamzat Chimaev is not challenging for gold yet (Source: X)

Now the 185-pound top seed, Chimaev and the divisional champ have made some strings of banters and callbacks. The wild striker vs. wild scrambler test has garnered attention as a must-see cable pay-per-view. So, Chael Sonnen has asked why Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis is not official even though the former was touted as the No. 1 middleweight contender.

He was a media darling like only two others had ever done: Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, …He was shopping, he was buying groceries with a cart, and this did hundreds and thousands of views on YouTube. He was driving through traffic with Darren Till – it did over a million views on YouTube…Now it’s the exact opposite. You can’t get an interview with him. We don’t even know for sure what country he’s living in. It really is a peculiar thing. He’s very clearly the No.1 contender…

Chael Sonnen to Denis Shkuratov for the ‘Submission Radio’ Show for SBNation Network (🎥: @SubmissionRadio on YT)
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Middleweight champion Du Plessis’ most recent tirade was a UFC 312 PPV headliner win against Sean Strickland. 2-0 in that pocket, he has closed out that option and has no next booking. However, before the Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 PPV card at Sydney Olympic Park, DDP told the media he was willing to fight Chimaev.

Hence, Sonnen found it surprising that it’s all tight-lipped on a fight against Chiamaev. Specifically, as he billed Borz was the real talent pool with Dana White privileges; not Sean O’Malley or Paddy Pimblett. Chimaev was a crowd-favorite and made media waves, the kind Conor McGregor’s and Ronda Rousey’s rise to fame did. However, the ebb of middleweight and Chimaev’s title-fight is not going forward any soon, anymore.

Related: Khamzat Chimaev warned about health risks as Dricus du Plessis reserves title shot after UFC 312