Outside of Sean Strickland, nobody may be happier about his win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 than former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
The South African fighter claimed the 185-pound belt with a win over Strickland and then put on an even more dominant showcase to beat him again in their rematch. But du Plessis’ fortune changed dramatically after Chimaev took him down repeatedly and just drained the life out of him when they met this past August.
The win crowned Chimaev as champion but now his reign is already over and Strickland is once again sitting atop the middleweight division. With two wins over him, du Plessis is obviously in a great position to look for a third fight and a chance to reclaim UFC gold again.
“Fight went exactly the way I thought it would,” du Plessis said after the UFC 328 main event ended. “Great, great fight by Strickland. Like I said, it’s so hard to keep that man on the ground. He is incredibly tough to hold down. He made Khamzat tired and that’s exactly what happened I knew and like I said in the standup [Khamzat] just won’t be able to hang with him.
“Congratulations. I guess this makes me world champion again.”
There was also video showing du Plessis celebrating Strickland’s win and he was definitely smiling ear to ear while giving his own applause for the result.
While du Plessis finds himself in a much better position now than he would have been with Chimaev retaining the title, he almost certainly still has to compete again before he could get a third crack at Strickland.
Add to that, Strickland said after the fight he wants to take a break after back-to-back training camps for the past six months getting ready for Chiamev and Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez. He also named Nassourdine Imavov as the most likely top contender to get the first shot at the title now that he’s champion again.
Still, du Plessis can’t be too far behind in the middleweight pecking order, especially if he can get an impressive win in his next fight and then call for a potential trilogy against Strickland in the near future.
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