Du Plessis is gearing up for a rematch with Strickland but remains mindful of Chimaev.

Drikus Du Plessis is focused on a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, but first, he must defend his title in a rematch with Sean Strickland. "MK-Sport" provides the details.

https://www.sportmk.ru/sports/2024/12/12/dyu-plessi-gotovitsya-k-revanshu-s-striklendom-no-ne-zabyvaet-o-chimaeve.html2024-12-12 09:12:01

The UFC has officially announced that middleweight champion Duplicy (22-2) will face Strickland (29-6) in the main event of UFC 312, scheduled for February 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. This will be their second encounter: their first fight took place in February at UFC 297, where Duplicy won by split decision and claimed the title.

This week, Duplicy explained on his social media why he is fighting Strickland again instead of the undefeated Chimaev, who is ranked second in the middleweight division and 14th in the overall pound-for-pound rankings.

"I preferred a fight with Chimaev"

"To clarify: I wanted to fight Khamzat, but the rematch with Strickland is a fight that many anticipated before Chimaev's bout with Whittaker," wrote Duplicy. "I have no issue with the UFC's decision. As I mentioned, I am ready to fight whoever the fans consider the best contender. If he was promised a fight, then Strickland it is."

Although their first bout was closely contested, an immediate rematch did not follow. After his victory at UFC 297, Duplicy successfully defended his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, while Strickland solidified his contender status by defeating Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Following these fights, UFC president Dana White announced that the organization plans to arrange a rematch between Duplicy and Strickland.

The Chimaev Factor

However, the UFC's plans changed when Chimaev impressed everyone with a dominant performance at UFC 308 in October, defeating former champion Robert Whittaker via submission in the first round. This achievement sparked excitement among fans and fighters, many of whom began calling for Chimaev to receive a title shot.

It remains unclear whether Chimaev will fight the winner of the main event at UFC 312 or take another bout to solidify his status as the top contender.

Shortly after the announcement of the rematch with Sean Strickland, Duplicy hinted that this time things would be different: "This time it won't be called a robbery. It will be called an attempted murder."

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