The UFC is giving Chimaev one more chance to hit the welterweight limit, but against who?
UFC president Dana White is giving Khamzat Chimaev ‘one more opportunity’ at 170 pounds.
In what would have been his first UFC headliner, Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds for his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 279 this past September. Because of the weight miss (and the circumstances around it), ‘Borz’ and his team hinted at a return to middleweight for his next appearance. However, it appears as though the UFC has decided to give him the go-ahead to stay at welterweight — for now.
“Khamzat wants to fight at 170,” White told BT Sport. “I’m gonna give him one more opportunity to fight at 170. He needs to deliver and make the weight. I would love to do that fight in England, too. I’m telling you, I’m going to bring a badass card to England.”
In its return to England, the UFC has set its sights on the trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman for the headliner. As for the co-headliner, White told Oscar Willis of The Mac Life that he would be open to Chimaev vs. Colby Covington.
“I’ll get it done,” said White.
White wanted Chimaev to share the Octagon with Covington following his fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 in April. The UFC president said with a win, the undefeated upstart would get ‘Chaos’ next. That never happened, but the fight could be on the horizon again.
Covington has not fought since his unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal earlier this year.