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UFC veteran says Sean Strickland Should Be Next in Line for the Title, Not Khamzat Chimaev

UFC veteran says Sean Strickland Should Be Next in Line for the Title, Not Khamzat Chimaev UFC veteran Chael Sonnen has voiced strong support for middleweight contender Sean Strickland over Khamzat Chimaev, stating that he…

UFC veteran Chael Sonnen has voiced strong support for middleweight contender Sean Strickland over Khamzat Chimaev, stating that he should be next in line for a title shot, rather than ‘Borz.’ Whereas the champion Dricus du Plessis has stated otherwise.

Sean Strickland Next, Not Khamzat Chimaev

In an interview with Helen Yee, the veteran shared his thoughts on the current landscape of the division, emphasizing that Strickland has earned his chance at the title through hard work and dedication. “Yes, what I want for Khamzat Chimaev is to see him fight Bo Nickal. Not for the title—he’ll get to the title eventually. But that’s Sean Strickland’s. That’s Sean Strickland’s opportunity. He’s been promised that; he earned that,” Chael Sonnen explained.

Sean Strickland’s determination to face the toughest opponents, including Khamzat Chimaev, has made a significant impression on Sonnen. The UFC veteran pointed out that Strickland was willing to fight Chimaev when few others dared, highlighting the courage he showed by stepping up. “Sean was willing to put the very title up against Chimaev. Sean went to training thinking he was gonna fight Chimaev, and he didn’t blink at all,” the veteran noted.

The athlete added that Strickland’s willingness to take on the challenge should be rewarded with a title shot. “There’s one guy that had the balls to go through Chimaev to get to a title, and that was Kamaru Usman, who didn’t get credit for it, and he should have.”

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is waiting at the top for a clear contender, both Strickland and Chimaev are in the conversation. Stillknocks’ du Plessis defeated Strickland to capture the title and then defended it against former champion Israel Adesanya. The US-born earned a five-round decision against Paulo Costa to bounce back from his loss. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev is 14-0 with his most recent win being a quick submission against former titleholder Robert Whittaker.

Arman Tsarukyan, a UFC contender, lost a submission grappling match against the middleweight Chimaev, Sonnen observed:

“I loved it. Khamzat choked him out there. There was a clip that went around, and I wish it would have been the whole thing … They do that occasionally for entertainment. I loved every second of that—nobody loses, right? They laugh, they smile, chalk it up to a workout. I love when guys go and do that. And I wish I would have seen 20 minutes of them wrestling, not just that one guillotine. I loved it.”

Strickland’s and Chimaev remain a topic of great discussion among analysts, but for now, Chael Sonnen is firm in his stance: “Sean wins that showdown—it’s his shot.”

Khamzat Chimaev Reacts To Ian Garry’s Middleweight Plan: ‘You’re Too Skinny!’

Undefeated UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev evidently isn’t taking Ian Garry’s 185-pound ambitions too seriously. Garry’s current focus is on rising the ranks at 170 pounds en route to the gold. The next step on that journey comes this weekend when he co-headlines the UFC 310 pay-per-view opposite top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. Fittingly, “The Future” has […]

Undefeated UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev evidently isn’t taking Ian Garry’s 185-pound ambitions too seriously.

Garry’s current focus is on rising the ranks at 170 pounds en route to the gold. The next step on that journey comes this weekend when he co-headlines the UFC 310 pay-per-view opposite top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Fittingly, “The Future” has never been on to avoid looking into the future. And when it comes to his plan post-Dec. 7, the Irishman has more than one belt in mind.

“I’m a young kid who’s dreamed of being here, who wanted to see his face on billboards.” Garry told Ariel Helwani this week. “(I) wanted to do shows against the scariest people in the world. I’ve said to you before, how my ideal scenario is I fight and beat Shavkat, and then win the welterweight title. I go up to middleweight, I fight Khamzat and win that belt too.

“I’m not afraid of any man. I know how talented I am. I know the gifts God gave me,” Garry added.

It didn’t take long for the middleweight specifically named by Garry while he became the latest expressing two-division goals to give his thoughts.

Taking to social media, Chimaev sent the unbeaten Dublin native a stern warning.

“@ianagaryy You’re too skinny kid, don’t go near the Wolf’s teeth, you’ll end up headless,” Chimaev wrote on X.

While Chimaev rose into title contention at welterweight, struggles to hit the 171-pound limit resulted in a permanent move to 185 pounds. He’s since thrived, defeating both Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker to rise to #3 on the divisional ladder.

With “Borz” widely expected to challenge for Dricus du Plessis’ gold next, the Chechen star could well occupy the throne by the time Garry has the chance to realize his middleweight aspirations.

First things first, though, Garry has another undefeated phenom to handle at T-Mobile Arena this Saturday night.

Read More: Charles Oliveira To Corner Ian Garry For UFC 310 Co-Main Event

Khamzat Chimaev Calls Out UFC’s Dricus Du Plessis—With Donald Trump

Khamzat Chimaev is coming for Dricus Du Plessis’ middleweight title, and the Chechen is getting a little help from…

Khamzat Chimaev is coming for Dricus Du Plessis’ middleweight title, and the Chechen is getting a little help from President-elect Donald Trump … Sort of.

Following his dominant first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi, fans are clamoring for ‘Borz’ to get his first shot at UFC gold.

Unfortunately, Chimaev will have to get in line as Dana White has already promised the next title opportunity to ex-champion Sean Strickland. Of course, that won’t stop Chimaev from shooting his shot on social media.

Recently, the undefeated Chimaev took to X and tagged Du Plessis in a post featuring an image of Trump pointing his finger.

A little odd seeing a Chechen fighter who lives in the Middle East calling out a South African with a picture of a former and soon-to-be President of the United States, but you do you, Chimaev.

‘The Reaper’ thinks Khamzat chimaev should walk straight into a title fight

Originally, the plan was for ‘DDP’ to put his title on the line against Strickland in a rematch of the UFC 297 clash that saw Du Plessis escape with a win and the belt via a somewhat questionable split decision. By all accounts, that still seems to be the plan, but White recently confirmed that Chimaev plans on competing for the middleweight title in 2025.

The only question is, will it be before or after Strickland’s promised shot?

If you ask Robert Whittaker, the answer is pretty clear.

“I’m interested to see what he does next,” Whittaker said on The MMArcade podcast. “I think he’s going to be a nightmare for a lot of the dudes in the top five because I don’t know how you stop that takedown? I think he should go straight to Dricus. I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded ever. But it’s not my call, not my decision.”

Khamzat Chimaev Uses Donald Trump To Aim Cryptic Post At Dricus Du Plessis

It looked for a long time like Dricus Du Plessis’ next middleweight title defense would see him face Sean Strickland in a rematch but that was until Khamzat Chimaev changed the narrative. Du Plessis won the middleweight title at UFC 297 in January by beating Strickland via a split decision and after the former champ […]

The only other potential candidate at the time was another former champion in Robert Whittaker but when he was booked to face Chimaev at UFC 308, all the title plans needed to be put on hold until that fight played out. What we ended up getting was a statement win from the undefeated Chimaev who became just the second man to submit “The Reaper” in 34 pro fights.

As a result, Chimaev challenging Du Plessis for the belt is now the most exciting fight in the division but one barrier to it happening could be the issues that “Borz” has faced in regards to staying active. His recent social media post appears to address that and remove it from the conversation.

Chimaev has not fought in the United States since UFC 279 in 2022 with his wins over Whittaker and Kamaru Usman both taking place in Abu Dhabi. He previously told Kevin Iole that if Donald Trump was re-elected as President, fighting in the United States wouldn’t be an issue for him.

“Let Donald Trump win the fight and I will be there.”

Posting on X, Chimaev tagged the 185-pound champion with nothing more than an image and eye emoji attached to get across his point that there is nothing that can get in the way of him being the next challenger. It now looks likely that we will see this huge fight take place at middleweight with it potentially being held in the United States.

Robert Whittaker Endorses Khamzat Chimaev for Next Title Shot: ‘Sitting Out Shouldn’t Be Rewarded’

Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. ‘Borz’ made…

Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.

‘Borz’ made a pretty compelling case at UFC 308, scoring a quickfire submission victory over Whittaker. With the win, Chimaev moved to the No. 3 spot in the 185-pound rankings and appears to be well on his way to his first title opportunity inside the Octagon.

However, the unbeaten Chechen monster may be waiting a bit after UFC CEO Dana White promised Sean Strickland the next title shot.

“Yes, [Strickland is still next],” White told reporters at a DWCS press conference in October.

White’s comments came weeks before Chimaev dropped jaws with his first-round neck-crank finish against ‘The Reaper’ in Abu Dhabi, leading many to suggest that ‘Borz’ be allowed to skip the line and walk straight into a scrap with ‘Stillknocks.’

Appearing on the MMArcade podcast with Jonny Roses, Whittaker echoed that same sentiment.

“I think [Khamzat] should go straight to Dricus,” Whittaker said. “I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded, ever.”

Khamzat Chimaev likely to face winner of ‘dDP’ vs. Strickland 2 instead of jumping the line

Following his win against Paulo Costa at UFC 302, Strickland made it clear that he planned to sit on the sidelines and wait for a rematch with Du Plessis. Clearly, Whittaker is not of fan of that strategy, but you can’t really blame Strickland for not wanting to put his spot at the front of the line at stake — especially after White confirmed he’s next.

No official date for ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 has been locked down. Originally, the promotion had hoped to take the sequel scrap to Du Plessis’ home country, South Africa. Unfortunately, it sounds like that is no longer the case after White indicated issues with locking down a venue.

No matter where Du Plessis and Strickland decide to run it back, Khamzat Chimaev will be watching and waiting.