{"id":854944,"date":"2025-06-11T19:12:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/11\/dricus-du-plessis-and-khamzat-chimaev-snubbed-as-pfl-star-is-named-the-best-middleweight-in-the-world\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T19:12:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:12:50","slug":"dricus-du-plessis-and-khamzat-chimaev-snubbed-as-pfl-star-is-named-the-best-middleweight-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/11\/dricus-du-plessis-and-khamzat-chimaev-snubbed-as-pfl-star-is-named-the-best-middleweight-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev snubbed as PFL star is named the \u2018best middleweight in the world\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<article id=\"post-204015\">\n<p><strong>Could there be a man outside of the UFC capable of beating both Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/05\/13\/dricus-du-plessis-vs-khamzat-chimaev-confirmed-for-ufc-319-as-challenger-returns-to-america-for-first-fight-since-2022\/\">Du Plessis and Chimaev will fight at UFC 319<\/a> in Chicago on August 16, as the latter gets set for his first opportunity at earning champion status on MMA\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>After moving up from welterweight, \u2018Borz\u2019 has defeated Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker to secure a title shot. \u2018Stillknocks\u2019, meanwhile, has also remained unbeaten in the UFC after standout performances against the likes of Whittaker, Sean Strickland and <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/israel-adesanya\/\">Israel Adesanya<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Those winning runs have left many branding the pair as the clear top two at 185 pounds. But according to a renowned coach, neither man could handle what the <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/pfl\/\">PFL\u2019s<\/a> top middleweight brings to the table.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/#list-arrow-svg\" \/><\/svg><strong>READ MORE: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/05\/24\/possible-replacement-for-nate-diaz-on-russian-tuf-emerges-as-bitter-jon-jones-rival-wants-in-after-wild-brawl\/\">Possible replacement for Nate Diaz on \u2018Russian TUF\u2019 emerges as bitter Jon Jones rival wants in after wild brawl<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Coach Mike Brown insists Johnny Eblen is better than UFC\u2019s Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev<\/h2>\n<p>During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, American Top Team trainer Mike Brown spoke about a number of fighters at his gym.<\/p>\n<p>Among the top names is <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/tag\/johnny-eblen\/\">Johnny Eblen<\/a>, a 16-0 professional who held the Bellator middleweight title when the promotion was acquired by the PFL.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of Eblen\u2019s return, Brown made a bold claim about \u2018Johnny Pressure\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohnny Eblen\u2019s the best middleweight in the world,\u201d Brown said. \u201cToday, right now, he is the best middleweight in the world. You put him against anybody and he wins, I believe that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStriking, conditioning, grappling, wrestling\u2026if things go bad in the fight, he finds ways to overcome it. Bad cut? Get rocked? Whatever, he finds a way.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sport\u2019s crazy, anything can happen. But I think this guy\u2019s the best middleweight in the world,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><svg width=\"20\" height=\"20\"><use href=\"http:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/#list-arrow-svg\" \/><\/svg><strong>READ MORE: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/05\/24\/ilia-topuria-is-told-that-one-key-mistake-may-have-already-ruined-his-three-weight-ufc-title-hopes\/\">Ilia Topuria is told that one key mistake may have already ruined his three-weight UFC title hopes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mike Brown Talks Dustin Poirier's Retirement Fight, Kayla Harrison, Horiguchi Injury - MMA Fighting\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GyJaOEQ-xig?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Johnny Eblen has the chance to prove his talents again before Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev<\/h2>\n<p>Before Du Plessis and Chimaev joust over the UFC middleweight title in Illinois, Eblen will feature at a historic event in the South African\u2019s home country.<\/p>\n<p>Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis, presumably for the PFL\u2019s new middleweight world title, is one of <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/05\/07\/dakota-ditchevas-mma-return-confirmed-as-pfl-africa-set-for-july-launch-in-cape-town\/\">the bouts set for PFL Africa<\/a> on July 19.<\/p>\n<p>Amid ongoing uncertainty about the UFC\u2019s plans to debut in the continent, the PFL will look to make a splash in Africa with their Champions Series card at Cape Town\u2019s GrandWest Arena.<\/p>\n<p>The event\u2019s recent date change means PFL Africa will take place on the same day as the <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/04\/25\/dustin-poirier-confirms-opponent-for-ufc-retirement-fight-after-missing-out-on-first-choice\/\">Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier-headlined UFC 318<\/a> pay-per-view.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Harvey Leonard<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2025\/05\/24\/dricus-du-plessis-and-khamzat-chimaev-snubbed-as-pfl-star-is-named-the-best-middleweight-in-the-world\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could there be a man outside of the UFC capable of beating both Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev? Du Plessis and Chimaev will fight at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16, as the latter gets set for his first opportunity at earning champion status on MMA\u2019s biggest stage. After moving up from welterweight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":854945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131663,107077],"tags":[139199,107076],"class_list":{"0":"post-854944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dricus","8":"category-plessis","9":"tag-dricus","10":"tag-plessis"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}