Shara Magomedov has little faith that Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev will be competitive.
UFC middleweight star Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov will return to the Octagon this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi as he looks to bounce back from his first professional loss. Magomedov will face knockout artist Marc-Andre Barriault in an intriguing matchup on Saturday.
Magomedov returns after a unanimous decision loss to Michael ‘Venom’ Page in February at UFC Saudi Arabia. Before the loss to Page, Magomedov won his first four UFC appearances.
Magomedov’s return comes just weeks before one of the biggest fights in UFC middleweight history as UFC champion Dricus du Plessis faces off with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319.
Shara Magomedov doubts Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev will be competitive
Du Plessis faces arguably the toughest test of his UFC middleweight title reign at UFC 319 against Chimaev. Unbeaten in his professional career, Chimaev has been touted as a potential future champion since he made his promotional debut in 2020.
Chimaev’s recent win over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 proved he’s the real deal at 185 lbs. But even after defeating Whittaker, Chimaev still has some things to prove as he prepares to potentially fight past Round 3 for the first time in his UFC tenure.
Despite the questions surrounding UFC 319, Magomedov doesn’t have a lot of faith in the reigning UFC middleweight champion’s chances in his upcoming defense.
During his UFC Abu Dhabi pre-fight press conference, Magomedov was asked for his prediction for the UFC 319 main event.
“As I said before, Dricus is in very good, strong hands in this fight,” Magomedov said.
“We’ll make sure to remember his name with two seconds of silence, afterwards.”
Du Plessis isn’t a stranger to being discredited despite holding the UFC middleweight title. Throughout his UFC career, du Plessis’s awkward style has been mocked by fans and pundits, despite his immense success inside the Octagon.
But Magomedov’s comments point to Chimaev’s standing in the UFC middleweight division and his potential to earn a UFC world title. We’re weeks away from finding out whether or not Magomedov’s prediction will hold true.
Khamzat Chimaev’s feud with Paulo Costa escalated at UFC 318
In the meantime, Chimaev has traded barbs with former UFC title challenger Paulo Costa in recent days. Costa called out Chimaev following his win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 last weekend, promising to fight Chimaev before their careers conclude.
Costa accused Chimaev of harassing his girlfriend over DMs leading up to their scheduled bout at UFC 294. The fight never came to fruition after Costa withdrew due to injury.
After Costa’s win at UFC 318, and depending on the results of UFC 319, Chimaev and Costa could potentially be on a collision course. Time will tell if Costa and Chimaev will settle their beef inside the cage, or outside of it.
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