Chael Sonnen believes that Khamzat Chimaev will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 312 main event on Saturday night, where Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland.
Sonnen's reasoning stems from the UFC 311 event, which lost its main event at the last minute. Given that UFC 312 only features one middleweight bout, the former title contender suspects the promotion wouldn’t risk another title fight cancellation.
“I think Chimaev’s the backup fighter,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t believe that Chimaev is just the No. 1 contender. I don’t believe that the proximity of this fight is something that you would not book Chimaev, who allegedly has Western travel issues.”
Chimaev, who recently secured citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, is coming off a dominant first-round submission victory over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last October. This further solidifies Sonnen's belief that Chimaev will be involved in some capacity at UFC 312.
I don’t think you would do that without bringing him. I’m confident that Chimaev will be there, I’m confident he will be in attendance, so why, if you’re flying him out, would you not put him on the scale the day before? I’m asking. I don’t know that answer.