Surging unbeaten UFC welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev certainly fancies his own chances against recently minted undisputed middleweight champion, Alex Pereira – claiming he’s already agreed to fight the Brazilian in just over two weeks’ time at UFC 282 this month.
Chimaev, who currently boasts an undefeated 12-0 professional record, co-headlined UFC 279 most recently back in September of this year, stopping incoming UFC Orlando headliner, Kevin Holland with a quickfire opening round D’Arce choke.
The AllStars MMA staple was slated to headline the event against the exiting, Nate Diaz, however, Khamzat Chimaev would miss weight by a whopping seven and a half pounds for the UFC 279 main event, resulting in the bout’s shelving by the organization.
For Pereira, the Sao Paulo striking phenom managed to mint himself as the undisputed middleweight champion earlier this month at UFC 281 in New York City – stopping then-champion, Israel Adesanya with a fifth round standing TKO victory.
Khamzat Chimaev calls out Alex Pereira for a UFC 282 title fight
Appearing ready to take on all comers at both welterweight and middleweight in his pursuit of Octagon gold, the undefeated, Chimaev has offered to fight Pereira at the promotion’s final flagship pay-per-view event later this month.
“@AlexPereiraUFC 10 December let’s go, I already agreed,” Khamzat Chimaev tweeted. “Now it’s your turn (crossed sword emoji).”
@AlexPereiraUFC 10 December let’s go, i already agreed. Now it’s your turn
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) November 20, 2022
While Chimaev has welcomed the opportunity to fight Pereira later this month, it appears the Brazilian is all but penned to fight the aforenoted, Adesanya in an immediate championship rematch next year – in what will come as his fifth Octagon outing.
UFC president, Dana White, also recently claimed that the organization were exploring the possibility of booking a welterweight fight between Chimaev, and former interim division champion, Colby Covington – potentially at an event in the United Kingdom in the opening quarter of next year.