After initial rumors came in via Kevin Iole about an injury to Dricus Du Plessis ahead of a rumored title defense against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 317, surging contender Caio Borralho has come up with a fresh update on the South African champ. And if the recent update is anything, Du Plessis may be in some real trouble, because the Brazilian fighter has got the word from people around the middleweight champ’s circle. Earlier, when the speculations about Du Plessis’ injury came to the fore, there wasn’t much to talk about since there was no information about what kind of injury it was. But with Borralho dropping the recent update ahead of the much-anticipated fight, it’s not looking good for DDP.

Just two months back, Du Plessis said that no matter how good Chimaev’s record is, he is ready to take on the Russian fighter. Yes, Chimaev has an outstanding track record, but his clash against Gilbert Burns and Usman Nurmagomedov exposed his weaknesses for DDP. “In those fights with Gilbert and Usman, we saw him. We saw what those guys were able to do,” Du Plessis said. “Those were smaller guys. I don’t believe that [there’s an aura around Chimaev]. I don’t believe, at this level, there’s any intimidation. I don’t believe it.” Now, when we are just two months away from the fight, Borralho’s update is sure to upset many.

Well, Borralho is still not sure what the nature of the injury is; it’s pretty “serious,” claiming that it was something related to one of Du Plessis’s legs. “I also heard from another source a little closer to Dricus’ camp that it was an injury that seems to be a little serious, like a broken shin. I don’t know. Something like that,” the Brazilian star recently stated during an interview with ‘Ag. Fight’ (translated via YouTube). Caio Borralho also mentioned that Du Plessis could be out for over half a year, which could compel Dana White to introduce an interim title for a fight between him and Khamzat Chimaev.

“He’ll be out for about six months, and that would make it easier for the UFC to put [the interim title on the line]. So, I’m waiting for that. This fight will only happen if it’s for the interim belt,” Borralho added. Michael Bisping had mentioned exactly about this scenario where the legend felt that White and the UFC should only allow an interim title to be on the line if the South African extends his time on being sidelines to more than six months.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting for the official word on ‘Stillknocks’ because it’s essential for Caio Borralho to see that the South African’s out and only then can he fight for a title against Khamzat Chimaev. But in the meantime, the Chechnya-born star has come out to blast the middleweight champion for allegedly pulling out of the fight. Here’s what Chimaev had to say!

Khamzat Chimaev blasts Dricus Du Plessis amid injury rumors

‘Borz’ is seemingly fed up with the delay of his impending title shot. It was apparent that he’d be fighting for the middleweight title after an almost 5-year undefeated run, but things were clear after his UFC 308 win over Robert Whittaker, where he crushed the ex-champ’s jaw. But seeing how Dricus Du Plessis is in an uncertain position, Chimaev decided to take a dig at the middleweight champion.

“This guy biggest bulls–t,” Khamzat Chimaev tweeted. Meanwhile, Dricus Du Plessis did not hold back either. He responded to the undefeated star by bringing up both of their record to mock ‘Borz’ for not being as active as the South African was in the last couple of years. “Let’s take a look at the last +- 2.5 years and tell me who’s the bulls–t,” said Du Plessis as he posted a picture of his own and Chimaev’s record of fights in the said duration. It was clear that ‘Borz’ had pulled out of at least three bouts in that time frame while Du Plessis was fairly active, winning the belt and then defending it twice.

However, he mentioned nothing about the rumors of him suffering an injury. Well, we are not that far away from UFC 317, and the picture will be clear when we make it to the next few weeks. Regardless, what do you think? Drop your comments below about the current middleweight title scene.