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Dricus Du Plessis, Sean Strickland

Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis reacted after Sean Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328.

Strickland beat Chimaev by split decision in a massive upset to capture the UFC middleweight title for the second time in his career. It was a grueling fight for both men, but at the end of 25 hard-fought minutes, two of the three judges edged the fight in Strickland’s direction, and he won via split decision to get his belt back.

Dricus Du Plessis Reacts to Sean Strickland Beating Khamzat Chimaev

The UFC often invites guest fighters to their big numbered events, and one of the guest fighters sitting cageside for the Strickland vs. Chimaev bout at UFC 328 was Du Plessis, the former UFC middleweight champion. Du Plessis beat Strickland two years ago at UFC 297 to capture the middleweight strap, then successfully defended it twice against Israel Adesanya and again against Strickland in a rematch, before dropping his title to Chimaev last summer.

Before the fight, Du Plessis was asked his prediction on the bout, and he said he was leaning towards Strickland to win the fight despite the odds being stacked against him. In the end, Du Plessis was proven right when Strickland got his hand raised.

Speaking after the Strickland vs. Chimaev main event of UFC 328, Du Plessis gave his reaction to the fight.

“The fight went exactly the way I thought it would. 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, and he made Khamzat tired, and that’s exactly what happened. I knew that in the standup, he just won’t be able to hang with him. So congratulations, and I guess this makes me world champion again,” Du Plessis said.

Dricus Du Plessis Rumored for Summer UFC Return

While nothing has been officially announced yet, there are strong rumblings that Du Plessis could return this summer at UFC Oklahoma City, with rumors linking him to a fight against former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, though nothing has beeen announced yet.

When rumors of this fight first appeared on social media, it was certainly a head-scratcher. But now that Strickland has beaten Chimaev to recapture the UFC middleweight title, Usman moving up to middleweight makes a lot more sense, since he holds a previous win over Strickland from their welterweight days. So, if Usman went in there and beat Du Plessis, then he could very well slip into the No. 1 contender spot in the UFC middleweight division and earn a title shot against Strickland.

As for Du Plessis, it goes without saying that he’s very close to getting a trilogy bout against Strickland since he already has two wins over him, though Nassourdine Imavov will likely get the next crack to fight Strickland first in his own rematch. But if Du Plessis can go out there and get an impressive win over Usman, then a trilogy fight against Strickland is right there.