Khamzat Chimaev is waiting for his second fight as an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight contender.
2024 kicked off with the 185-pound division occupying the spotlight at UFC 297 last month (Jan. 20, 2024). Now-former Middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, came up short in his first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis, who won via a split decision (watch highlights).
Originally, the undefeated 13-0 Chimaev looked like the most likely next challenger after he was promised his title shot with a win over former Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 294 in October 2023. “Borz” still hopes to get his title shot next, but there are still some questions after his majority decision win over Usman. Former divisional champion, Michael Bisping, has a suggestion for the contender’s next match up.
“I would like to see him against a Jared Cannonier because if he can’t take him down and he can’t fix this problem with the cardio then he’s gonna have a real long-term problem going forward,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Who knows, maybe there’s a reason why he was running out of gas, okay? Probably because he doesn’t pace himself.
“He goes forward straight away, wrestles,” he continued. “When you try to take someone down, that is the most cardio-taxing element of mixed martial arts. Trying to wrestle someone, trying to grab hold of another grown man and force them to the floor. Using technique, of course, but a lot of power goes into it. I can tell you from experience, that is absolutely exhausting. Especially when you have another world-class opponent who knows how to stop takedowns fighting against you.”
As always, Chimaev was as dominant as ever in the opening round against Usman, wrestling him and avoiding strikes for the whole frame. Chimaev visibly slowed down, he didn’t fully gas, but wasn’t the same by the end of the fight and Usman was able to rally and arguably win in some people’s minds.
Cannonier, on the other hand, will attempt to get back in the mix when he returns after he last defeated Marvin Vettori by unanimous decision in June 2023.
“Jared Cannonier, in my humble opinion, is the perfect opponent,” Bisping said. “There’s others out there. There’s Sean Strickland. They had a little moment in the gym as well. Take my money, love to see that one, but Khamzat-Jared Cannonier, that would be great.”