Israel Adesanya has shown championship guts as he gears up to fight rising contender Joe Pyfer at UFC Seattle. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’s decision has prompted fans and experts to ask: Is the former 185 lbs king taking too much risk? Now, even Chael Sonnen is raising a similar question about another former UFC champion.

Recently, Dricus du Plessis stirred the pot once again by calling out Khamzat Chimaev for a rematch. The South African suffered a tough loss at UFC 319 last year, so his push to settle that grudge makes perfect sense. But while Chael Sonnen likes the fight in theory, he believes the former champ made a mistake with that callout. Why? Because ‘The Bad Guy’ thinks du Plessis should have targeted another ranked opponent, as the UFC is unlikely to book the rematch right now. 

Chael Sonnen believes Dricus du Plessis is making the same mistake as Adesanya 

“Adesanya is largely fighting Joe Pyfer just because Adesanya didn’t come out to the media with an opponent. He didn’t put his finger in somebody’s chest,” Chael Sonnen said in his YouTube video. “So, all of a sudden, you’ve got a first ballot Hall of Famer, who in my opinion is the greatest middleweight of all time, and he’s gonna take on a very dangerous up and coming and less of a celebrity, Joe Pyfer. That’s the way this game is played.

But Dricus, very much unless he finds an opponent, he calls for that guy. Now, as a former world champion, we’re going to respect that. We are gonna want Dricus to get what he wants. We want people to get what they want, but we have to know what the hell they want. There was nothing obvious about him fighting Chimaev. DDP, who I’m a fan of. DDP, who I’m looking forward to in his next fight, just completely wasted his time. The obvious thing about him and Chimaev is that they aren’t going to make that fight,” he added. 

The former title challenger makes a compelling point. The middleweight champion currently has several contenders lined up, and some might look more appealing to the UFC. For instance, Khamzat Chimaev vs Nassourdine Imavov has remained a long-standing fan favorite ever since the Chechen Emirati captured the belt. Moreover, both fighters have already traded words and verbally agreed to fight during Ramadan. 

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However, if that matchup falls apart, another grudge fight could emerge for ‘Borz.’ On February 21, Sean Strickland and Anthony Hernandez will headline in Houston, and Chimaev could very well find his next challenger there. With all those moving pieces, can ‘DDP’ realistically secure a rematch? Probably not.

Because of that reason, Sonnen speculated that he might end up fighting a lower-ranked opponent like Adesanya, who has already risked his status by taking another dangerous fight against Pyfer. What ‘The American Gangster’ really wanted was for DDP to call out someone like Brendan Allen. But since du Plessis did not, Sonnen suspects the South African might now find himself facing a similarly ranked opponent simply because he failed to make a decisive callout.

Nevertheless, as Dricus du Plessis eyes his return, he appears determined to show a sharper, improved version of himself. And while he still has the ‘Borz’ rematch in mind, the South African has even hinted at accepting whatever fate awaits if that sequel plays out differently next time. 

‘DDP’ believes the Chimaev rematch would go differently

The former South African champion is plotting a comeback in April, eyeing a rematch with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 327, which is set for Miami. So far, the UFC has not locked in a main event, although Joshua Van has teased the possibility of headlining the card. But regardless of the date or location, ‘Stillknocks’ believes a second fight with ‘Borz’ would play out very differently if it stays on the feet.

“Fighting Khamzat again is what I’m after,” Du Plessis said on Fight Forecast. “Am I expecting any surprises? No. There’s not going to be any surprises. That is the way he’s going to fight, and if he tries anything different, it will be a terrible night, and we all know that. But he did what he had to do to win that belt.”

In Chicago last year, Khamzat Chimaev put on a dominant performance against Du Plessis. In a five-round fight, the Chechen native landed 52 of 99 total strikes, including 37 significant shots, while racking up 21:40 of control time. But in the final round, the South African briefly tagged the reigning middleweight champion with a perfectly timed right hand that caught everyone’s attention. So ‘Stillknocks’ definitely has the tools on the feet to spark an upset.

However, can he truly deliver a different fight than the first one? We will only find out if DDP and ‘Borz’ step inside the cage together again. That said, can the 32-year-old carve his path back to that highly anticipated rematch? Let us know in the comments section below.