Dricus Du Plessis is not buying Khamzat Chimaev’s explanation for his narrow title defeat to Sean Strickland at UFC 328.
Chimaev lost his middleweight belt to Strickland by split decision earlier this month at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and talk quickly turned to his difficult weight cut. Arman Tsarukyan said Chimaev cut 12 to 13 pounds on the final day before the fight.
Du Plessis pushed back hard on that narrative. “I think this whole weight cut excuse is ridiculous,” he said, before downplaying the reported numbers. “I mean, they said he cut 12 pounds in the 24 hours. Those are rookie numbers. 12 pounds in 24 hours, that's not that bad. What matters is that last 24 hours and 12 pounds is not that much. I definitely done more than that.”
He expanded on his stance, arguing that difficult cuts and injuries are part of the job. “It's happened to all of us, but, you don't go out and say, 'Oh, I lost the fight because of that.' No. If you want to change weight divisions, change weight divisions. But blaming a bad weight cut is like saying, 'I lost the fight because I wasn't fit.' It's on you. Be more disciplined. Be more disciplined and the weight cut would be easier. When you get to octagon, there is no excuse.”
After the loss, Chimaev told UFC president Dana White he wanted to move to light heavyweight, but soon turned his attention toward a rematch with Strickland.
