"So Dricus is just a floormat" - MMA fans disapprove of Dana White's decision to make Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman a title eliminator

Dana White has said that the winner of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman, set as the co-main event of UFC 294, will likely face Sean Strickland for the middleweight title next.

The bout was announced yesterday after reports emerged that Paulo Costa had a staph infection in his elbow and was not medically cleared to fight 'Borz'.

Fans were elated with news of a clash between Chimaev and Usman, and many felt that it was a better matchup than the original UFC 294 co-main event.

However, they were left confused by Dana White's decision to make the Chimaev vs. Usman fight a middleweight title eliminator. 'Borz' will be fighting at middleweight for the first time since 2020, while Usman will be making his divisional debut.

Given their lack of meaningful fights at 185 pounds, the winner of the UFC 294 co-main event facing Sean Strickland next makes little sense to fans.

According to MMA journalist Kevin Iole, the UFC president said:

"Dana White just told me that the Chimaev-Usman winner will get the next title shot barring injury, etc"

One fan in particular pointed to No.2-ranked middleweight Dricus du Plessis being ignored.

"So dricus is just a floormat"

Check out more reactions below:

"Absolutely ridiculous that neither guy is ranked and are in talks of fighting for a f*cking belt when Dricus and Jared exist"

"Oh of course, 1 win at middleweight against a welterweight on a 2 fight losing streak, on a weeks notice definitely deserves the next title shot"

"Bro fights a welterweight & gets a middleweight title shot lmaoo this isn’t even a sport anymore"

"This is a joke, right?"

Screenshot of fan reactions to Chimaev vs. Usman title eliminator

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Dana White expresses frustration with Charles Oliveira's camp after leaking injury news

Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw from his bout with Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 294 after suffering a gruesome cut above his eye in training.

Oliveira's team let slip the information of his withdrawal, which allowed multiple MMA channels to release the news before the promotion could inform officials in Abu Dhabi.

Dana White confirmed Oliveira would be replaced by Alexander Volkanovski during a media scrum yesterday, where he also shared frustration with Oliveira's team leaking the news:

"I would have announced it hours ago, except I was waiting for the guys to wake up in Abu Dhabi to let them know before we reported it. These guys that surround these guys down in Brazil can't keep their f**king mouths shut. This came out of Oliveira's camp apparently, just f**king part of the business."

Watch the video below from 1:20: