Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman rates Dricus Du Plessis’ performance over Sean Strickland at UFC 312 but believes two contenders could give ‘Stillknocks’ trouble.
Du Plessis defeated his ‘Best Bad Fighter’ nickname by snubbing Strickland’s jab and forcing Strickland to readjust his nose mid-fight. As a result, ‘DDP’ scored a landslide victory over Strickland and eyed his next challenger, Khamzat Chimaev. Du Plessis believes he’ll outwrestle Chimaev.
While fight fans acknowledge that Chimaev is likely next to the throne, Usman believes another top contender is a tough stylistic matchup for the South African champ.
‘I don’t like that fight for DDP’ … Kamaru Usman names Nassourdine Imavov as a potential threat to the middleweight title
Speaking on his Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman praised Du Plessis’ performance before evaluating his chances against his next challengers.
“From what I saw yesterday [at UFC 312], there’s still a big question mark on potentially two guys that I think have a great shot at dethroning DDP,” Usman explained. “… If he fought Nassourdine Imavov the way that he fought Sean Strickland… I don’t like that fight for DDP.
“ We saw how [Imavov’s] standup was with Israel Adesanya; when you stand up with Nassourdine Imavov, he might be the sharper guy right besides Israel Adesanya right now.”
Imavov knocked out Adesanya at UFC Saudi Arabia. He also fought and lost to short-notice Strickland in 2023 before returning with his current four-fight streak.
Dricus du Plessis wants double-champ fight after Khamzat Chimaev
Dricus Du Plessis met with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira backstage after winning at UFC 312. ‘Poatan’ and coach Plinio Cruz alleged Du Plessis agreed to a double-championship fight for Pereira’s 205 title after Pereira fights Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313.
Before that could happen, Dricus Du Plessis has to entertain a fight with Chimaev, who submitted Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. Du Plessis previously admitted he wanted to fight Chimaev instead of rematching Strickland, and he may get this desire soon enough.