In recent years, the UFC middleweight division has generated a lot of buzz, especially following Israel Adesanya‘s dethroning as champion. Currently, Dricus Du Plessis holds the title after defeating several formidable opponents in the division. As a result, interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has spoken out about this situation.
In a recent video, Aspinall discussed the impressive UFC fights of 2024, which featured numerous knockouts and submission wins. Among the fighters he highlighted was Dricus Du Plessis, the South African UFC champion. Aspinall took the opportunity to praise Du Plessis for his performances in the octagon, aligning with the sentiments of several other prominent figures in the community.
For me, he is someone who I watched DDP and I‘m like, he looks like he‘s doing things wrong but obviously for him, the things really really work for him and I am really excited to see how he pushes on 2025 as a defending champion again when he fights I believe Sean Strickland early in 2025.
Tom Aspinall on his YouTube channel (Check from 3:05)
In 2024, Du Plessis entered the UFC octagon twice. He headlined the first pay-per-view event of the year, facing Sean Strickland. In a closely contested fight, the South African fighter emerged victorious, claiming the title of UFC middleweight champion. Following that, he participated in another fight at UFC 305, this time going up against one of the most formidable contenders in the middleweight division, Israel Adesanya.
In DDP’s fight against Adesanya, many people placed their bets on ‘Izzy’, making the outcome of the fight quite surprising. The South African fighter successfully defended his UFC middleweight title for the first time by submitting Adesanya. Aspinall, who witnessed Du Plessis’ performance, was thoroughly impressed by the middleweight champion. Specifically, Aspinall admired DDP’s fight IQ.
Tom Aspinall snubs Dricus Du Plessis for Khamzat Chimaev in his 2025 UFC champion prediction
Although Tom Aspinall praised Dricus Du Plessis for his impressive performances in 2024, he did not express confidence in Du Plessis for the 2025 UFC predictions. The UFC middleweight division is filled with exciting competitors, with Khamzat Chimaev being one of the rising contenders. Chimaev is fresh off a victory against Robert Whittaker in his last UFC outing.
Dricus Du Plessis‘ last fight outing (Image via CNN)Following Chimaev’s UFC 308 victory, he received widespread praise from several prominent figures around the world. Aspinall is one of the notable names on that list, as he was truly inspired by the Chechen fighter’s dominant fighting style. Consequently, when giving his predictions for potential champions in 2025, Aspinall selected Chimaev to become the middleweight champion by that year.
I‘ve picked against Dricus, so many times, I‘m not going to do it again, but I think to say that Khamzat Chimaev is not going to be a champion this time next year is just silly. So I‘m going to say Khamzat.
Tom Aspinall via TNT Sports
👑Tom Aspinall predicts every UFC Champion in 2025:
Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili
Featherweight: Ilia Topuria
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad
Middleweight: Khamzat Chimaev
Light Heavyweight: Ankalaev / Pereira… pic.twitter.com/6K44LHjc8Z— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 28, 2024
Interestingly, there was speculation that Chimaev would be Du Plessis’ upcoming opponent. However, the South African fighter is now scheduled to face Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Given Aspinall’s predictions about Chimaev becoming champion in 2025, it will be interesting to see how quickly the Chechen fighter can secure his first championship fight.
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