Former UFC lightweight, Din Thomas, who currently serves as MMA analyst on select UFC broadcasts, is fed up with choosy champions who bring their weight classes to a halt with part-time schedules and summer vacations.
That’s why Thomas suggests a victory for Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 pay-per-view (PPV) main event, where “Borz” challenges Dricus Du Plessis for the 185-pound strap, would be a “disaster” for the middleweight division.
“If Khamzat wins it’s a disaster,” Thomas recently told MMA Junkie.
“You can’t tell me a part of you isn’t just thinking, ‘This fight might not actually happen.’ Some of these guys habitually struggle in just making it to the dance. I’m not going to be pessimistic about it and will say he’s going to show up.”
Chimaev, 31, has a well-documented history of injuries, withdraws, and cancelations.
“If he does show up and he’s able to win, do we trust him to be able to show up and fight again? That’s the thing,” Thomas continued. “Can he do it twice? Can he do it three times? Because we need movement. I hate when it’s static and there’s no movement in these divisions and in order to be movement in the divisions, the champions have to fight.”
Chimaev remains undefeated at 14-0 but has only competed twice over the last three years. By comparison, the 31 year-old Du Plessis (23-2) racked up six fights during that same timeframe which includes three championship contests.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 319 later this month in Chicago click here.
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