Daniel Cormier: Fans won’t want to see Strickland vs. Du Plessis trilogy

Daniel Cormier is unsure if Dricus Du Plessis gets the next UFC title shot.

Du Plessis (24-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) declared himself as No. 1 contender after piecing up former champion Kamaru Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 281 headliner at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

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Du Plessis beat Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) twice in UFC middleweight title fights, before losing his belt to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. Chimaev was then upset by Strickland at UFC 328.

“When it comes to Sean Strickland and DDP fighting for a third time, I honestly believe that while me as a purist, as a person that loves watching the two best in the division fight for the championship, the two guys that seem to be the people that should be fighting for the belt, the two guys that have a history, I believe that DDP being 2-0 over the champ might actually be a bad thing,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Why? Because I believe that 2-0 with the last fight being so dominant, people almost don’t want to go and watch another fight.

“Because the reality is this: No matter what Strickland had done, if DDP was still the champion, I don’t think that people would have ever wanted to see him fight for the belt again. So do we want to see them fight for a third time? I do because I’m a purist. But what does the general fan think when they have seen this act twice, and it got worse the second time by DDP? I don’t know. (Nassourdine) Imavov has earned, though. He has earned that opportunity. Let’s see if he gets that opportunity to fight for that belt.”

Imavov, who’s on a five-fight winning streak, reacted to Du Plessis’ call for a title shot.