Khamzat Chimaev called out Alex Pereira after his stoppage victory over Israel Adesanya. The fast-rising Swede is currently operating at welterweight but is keen to jump up to middleweight to square off against the newly crowned 185lb champion.
Chimaev has competed at middleweight twice during his six-fight stint with the UFC – the first against John Phillips in his debut and the second versus Gerald Meerschaert. Many have called for him to move back up in weight after he missed the welterweight limit by a staggering 8.5lb at UFC 279 – leading to a last-minute opponent change from Nate Diaz to Kevin Holland – but Borz affirms that he wishes to stay put.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson told James Lynch: “From what I hear, he’s a very strong welterweight. He should be at 185. I don’t even understand why he’s still at 170. I know they’re trying to get him to fight Colby Covington, which I think is gonna be a fun fight.
“That’s gonna be a fun fight (against) somebody who’s as strong a wrestler as Khamzat. But the thing is, is he gonna make weight? Can he make weight?”
After defeating Adesanya earlier this morning, Pereira told Megan Olivi during a backstage post-fight interview that he has ‘many options’ for his next fight but that he would be interested in fighting someone that is a ‘very good grappler’. Chimaev fits that bill but would be jumping over a lot of hungry contenders to get his shot.
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