Agreeing with that sentiment is Morne Visser, Du Plessis’ head coach, who just a day removed from losing the title at UFC 319, has slammed Chimaev’s performance.

Nate Diaz is not a fan of Khamzat Chimaev. Over the weekend, Chimaev became the UFC middleweight champion with a dominant win against Dricus Du Plessis.

Whittaker, who was quickly submitted by Chimaev at UFC 308, went on to lose his second-straight fight to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) last month in the UFC on ABC 9 headliner. De Ridder was able to survive a Round 3 knockdown to outlast Whittaker.

Unlike his two prior title defences, the build-up to Dricus du Plessis’ third title defence, against Khamzat Chimaev, has been strictly focused on the action inside the octagon.