Despite claiming he is not, in fact, injured as speculated — UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis has been warned against facing Khamzat Chimaev at less than 100 per cent by former promotional title challenger, Kenny Florian.
du Plessis, the current undisputed middleweight titleholder, was targeted to make his return during International Fight Week at the end of June, in a grudge fight against the unbeaten, Chimaev in Las Vegas.
However, this week, speculation was rife regarding his ability to fight on the card, with reports claiming the Pretoria native was dealing with an undisclosed injury.
Furthermore, du Plessis cast doubt on claims he had suffered a shin fracture during his time away from action, stressing that he had actually never inked a contract to fight the Chechen as soon as the end of June.
Dricus du Plessis urged to deny fight with Khamzat Chimaev if injured
However, as far as Octagon icon, Florian is concerned, even if du Plessis eventually fights Chimaev later this year — he should do so in top, top form.
“Dricus (du Plessis) had an injury—maybe even a broken foot or something—that he was recovering from when he fought (Sean) Strickland the first time around,” Florian said on Anik & Florian. “I don’t think he wanted to do something like that again, fight injured. So I imagine if there is an injury there, and you’re fighting someone like Khamzat Chimaev, you do not want to go in there anything less than maybe 90%, right? Because of the challenge ahead of you.
But, my goodness, this is the benefit of having the type of elite roster that the UFC has: you can put on another amazing fight, like Caio Borralho against Khamzat Chimaev,” Florian continued. “Both guys are firing on all cylinders right now. Both have matured a lot since their debuts. They showed a lot of promise early on—perhaps Chimaev even more so, of course—but I think Caio Borralho is going to be a significant challenge, just based on the fact that he is so damn good, not only on the feet but on the ground as well.
“Maybe he has the cure to that takedown ability of Khamzat Chimaev. But what a fight, if that’s the way it’s going to go down. That’s a tremendous pivot.”
As mentioned by the former featherweight star, the promotion have been linked with a massive interim title fight as soon as UFC 317, between Chimaev, and the surging, Caio Borralho — who remains steadfast in a pursuit of a championship pairing against his former training partner.
