Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

How Can Dana White Save UFC 317 if Dricus Du Plessis Can’t Fight?

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The potential fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, at UFC 317, could now be put on halt, as the current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis announced his injury yesterday. This has generated a lot of questions about who would replace Du Plessis versus Chimaev fight at UFC 317.

The injury announcement was made yesterday, and as you would expect Khamzat Chimaev was not happy to hear about the injury, and it’s because he’s been waiting since July of 2020 for his shot at the title. When the injury announcement was made, Chimaev tweeted “This guy biggest bullsh*t,” to which Du Plessis fired back with a tweet of his own which said, “Let’s take a look at the last +-2.5 years and tell me who’s bullshit.” Du Plessis has won all three of his title defense fights so far against Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland twice, and after he beat Strickland for the second second, he immediately mentioned that he wanted to fight Chimaev next as he was next in line.

Dricus Du Plessis responds to Khamzat after injury rumours pic.twitter.com/UhiUo9lidL
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) April 21, 2025

Since Chimaev and Du Plessis fight is most likely off the table, who will Dana White choose to replace those two fighters with at UFC 317? Let’s find out more.

Also Read: Khamzat Chimaev And Caio Borralho Trade Verbal Blows As Dricus Du Plessis Fight Falls Through!

Who Could Dana White Tap to Replace Dricus Du Plessis for UFC 317 Title Fight?

Here are some of the potential fighters or fights that Dana White could replace Du Plessis for UFC 317;

Caio Borralho- Ranked No.6 in the UFC middleweight division, Borralho is undefeated in the UFC (7-0) and coming off a dominant 2024, including a win over Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night, in August of 2024. He’s already called out Chimaev, claiming Chimaev accepted a fight for an interim title at UFC 317. His willingness take fights on short notice aligns with UFC’s need for a high-profile replacement.

Khamzat Chimaev and Caio Borralho go back and forth on Instagram 👀🍿

🗣️ Khamzat: "If we will fight hundred times, you will never win if somebody knows you know that bro 😂😂😂😂"

🗣️ Caio: "If u say so! Sign the contract and we will see 😉🤓"#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/A3J6wZda61
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 21, 2025

Paulo Costa- Costa’s currently ranked No. 12th in the UFC middleweight division with a 14-4 record, (6-4) in the UFC, and he responded to a fan speculation about fighting Chimaev at UFC 317. While Costa initially said he had accepted another fight for international fight week, suggesting prior UFC plans, but left the door open, stating he’d fight Chimaev if the UFC desired him to do so.

Paulo Costa shares his thoughts on having his name in the mix and calls out Khamzat Chimaev for #UFC317 🔥💥#UFC pic.twitter.com/65NuDegqBi
— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_) April 20, 2025

Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria: The fans, analysts, commentators, all want to see the fight between the two. However, there hasn’t been any date set yet for the bout to go down. Topuria has been very vocal about how he wants to take on Makhachev for the lightweight title, but Makhachev has still been holding back so far, especially because he doesn’t want to take on another featherweight fighter. If Dana White is to replace the Du Plessis vs Chimaev fight with Makhachev vs Topuria, it would satisfy the fans even more, as this bout is the most anticipated outside of Jones vs Aspinall.

Also Read: Belal Muhammad Predicts Outcome of Ian Garry vs. Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City

Dana White

Dricus Du Plessis

Khamzat Chimaev

UFC

UFC 317

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

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