"Just make it a triple threat match" - Fans react to reports of Khamzat Chimaev stepping in as backup for Dricus du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland

Khamzat Chimaev may very well be the backup fighter for the UFC 312 middleweight title fight in Sydney, Australia, between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. That is, at least, according to speculation from Submission Radio, whose latest Instagram post about the bout got MMA fans talking.

A snippet from an interview with Eric Nicksick, who serves as the head coach for Strickland, saw him openly question whether Chimaev will serve as the main event backup fighter due to 'Borz' already being in Sydney doing seminars. While the UFC has not yet made any official announcements, fan interest has been piqued.

Many flocked to the comment section of the post to offer their thoughts on the situation. One fan brought up Chimaev's rumored VISA issues, which are reportedly due to his affiliation with heavily sanctioned Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov.

"How did he get let into the country??" wrote the fan on Instagram.

Others, though, cracked jokes about the muddied title situation at middleweight.

"Just make it a triple threat match," commented one user.

Some even scoffed at the du Plessis vs. Strickland bout, before expressing maximum confidence that Chimaev could defeat both on the same night.

"Khamzat would beat bith [both] same night. DDP vs. Strickland is a low-level fight," wrote the fan.

This was, to a degree, echoed by another fan, who commented:

"He beats both so it doesn't matter, it'll eventually happen lol."

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Khamzat Chimaev backup fighter rumors

Chimaev currently has his sights set on the middleweight title, so whoever emerges victorious at UFC 312 should expect to face him next, especially if it is Du Plessis, who would be securing his second title defense.

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Khamzat Chimaev has been taking aim at Sean Strickland on social media

With no fight booked and fresh off a first-round destruction of Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev is spending his downtime hosting seminars in Australia and poking fun at Sean Strickland on X/Twitter. He recently shared a picture of the two of them from a training session with the following caption:

"It's ok bro haha."

Chimaev has also been tagging the wrong Strickland accounts on X/Twitter in a manner similar to Paulo Costa when he was taunting Dana White, Jake Paul and Nate Diaz.