Robert Whittaker admits he doesn’t have a say in the UFC’s middleweight championship matchmaking, but if he had the mighty pencil, he would’ve done things differently.
During the UFC 310 broadcast this past Saturday, the UFC announced that champion Dricus du Plessis will defend his title in a rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in February. Despite UFC CEO Dana White repeatedly saying that Strickland would get his rematch following his decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June, fans were puzzled with the matchmaking, as they expected Khamzat Chimaev to get his first championship opportunity after his impressive first-round submission of Whittaker at UFC 308 in October.
Whittaker was asked if Chimaev should’ve gotten the shot over Strickland.
“Definitely,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “Khamzat was in the discussion when he beat Usman that time. And then he had the time off and then he fought me, beat me. So I don’t know, he’s always kind of been in the title discussion. He’s undefeated. Yeah, I don’t know.
“It’s hard to argue against him getting a shot at this point — especially if you’re giving Sean Strickland a title shot like that.”
In their first meeting at UFC 297 in January, du Plessis won a super close split decision over Strickland to win the middleweight title. Since then, du Plessis stopped Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.
Whittaker’s co-host brought up the fact that Chimaev has had success in multiple weight classes, and has been willing to face all levels of competition if he’s ready to compete, regardless of notice. While “The Reaper” agrees, he also wants to make sure that same respect goes the other way, and will watch Strickland look to become a two-time champion either way.
“To be fair, Sean’s that sort of fighter, too,” Whittaker explained. “He will fight anyone as well. ... Sean’s fought a bunch of people at different weights as well, so there’s no argument there that Sean will fight anyone.
“And that fight [with du Plessis] was so close. I don’t care, dude. Ultimately, let him, who cares? I’m out of the picture, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
As of now, the UFC hasn’t revealed any plans for Chimaev. So the question now is, will Chimaev wait for the winner of the du Plessis vs. Strickland rematch, or will he take another fight to stay busy?
If it’s the latter, Whittaker has an interesting suggestion.
“I think Chimaev’s right there for a title shot, at the very least,” Whittaker said. “Or, I don’t know, put him against Adesanya. That’ll give him a title shot [if he wins]. Why not?”
