Khamzat Chimaev stopped Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds in one the most anticipated fights of Saturday nights card, earning him a performance of the night bonus and becoming the fastest fighter to reach 3 wins in the octagon. In Chimaev’s post fight press conference he was very vocal on his plans for the future by talking about potential matchups against the Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Middleweight king Israel Adesanya. (H/T MMAJunkie)
Chimaev was asked if he’s ready for a crack at the title Chimaev responded “Of course! Why not? I did hard work for that. I’m ready. Both divisions.” Chimaev also claims he’s gonna stop both champions, “If I do my hard work, nobody’s a challenge for me, I’m going to stop both guys.”
Dana White also revealed that they were also booking Chimaev against Demian Maia for a fight later that year, when asked about his proposed fight vs Maia, he was excited to for the test against one of the best grapples in UFC history. “He’s the best ‘jitser’ in MMA. If I stop him, choke him out, I’m the best ‘jitser’ in MMA!” he said. “Like I said to Dana, if you give me Demian Maia, I am ready for him. If you give me Brock Lesnar, I am ready for him, also.”
In Chimaev’s first two fights in the octagon he took his opponents down and stopped both of them, which led fans to draw comparisons between him and the undisputed Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, however Chimaev disagrees, he said “Everybody says, ‘You’re Khabib. Khabib No. 2,’ something like that. But I am Khamzat, I can knock out people, submit the people, smash the people, everything. I have everything.”
Chimaev is looking for a quick turnaround and wants a another fight quickly and due to his impressive performance vs Meerschaert, UFC president Dana White admitted they could look to book Chimaev a fight before he fights Demian Maia and keep him active inside the octagon.
Who would you like to see Chimaev fight next?