Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev will be fighting next, despite reports to the contrary, according to the champion’s coach.
The passive mention of a prospective Du Plessis injury in an article by veteran journalist Kevin Iole last week sent rumors into overdrive. Iole simply mentioned that the middleweight champion might not be ready for UFC 317 due to a knock, but the rumor mill turned that into reports that he had a broken shin.
Now, coach Morne Visser has confirmed that Du Plessis is not injured, and that he will be fighting Chimaev in his next world title defence. However, that fight won’t be at International Fight Week due to the UFC scheduling something else.
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Dricus Du Plessis injury reports shut down by coach
As fans allowed their theories to run wild regarding Dricus Du Plessis, he and his team remained relatively silent on the topic. However, now his coach Morne Visser has opened up about exactly what the truth is, and his plans for a Khamzat Chimaev fight.
“We’ve been talking to the UFC, myself and Dricus and the UFC have been on the same page about this whole thing from the word go,” he told Submission Radio. “We haven’t signed a contract so the fight was never confirmed.
“We were talking about it but no injuries, man, that’s bulls—. We’re fighting Khamzat Chimaev, we are actually waiting for the contract so it’s going to be soon. Definitely not going to be International Fight Week, they’ve got something else planned for that.
“I’m sure everybody knows about what they’ve got planned and that’s obviously also not 100 per cent confirmed. But we’re fighting Khamzat, we’re waiting for the contract so it’s a done deal if he doesn’t pull out, we’ve seen how many times he’s pulled out when it comes to real action.”
Dricus Du Plessis addressed injury rumors in social media post
Yesterday, Dricus Du Plessis addressed the reports in his own right. He shut down talks of a broken shin which were never substantiated or linked to Iole’s initial mention, and insisted that he never pulled out of International Fight Week as the fight was never signed.
“Okey so everyone had their opinions and rumours and stories about a shin break and injuries etc,” he wrote on Instagram, before launching into a mocking message towards Chimaev. “I found it all very entertaining, unfortunately none of it is true.
“Myself and @ufc already discussed a fight date and opponent, the June fight was never signed I did not pull out of any fight. I am the champion I know when I fight you as a contender just show up when we tell you to. Fight announcement coming soon stay tuned. #preparetobeamazed #stillknocks.”