Khamzat Chimaev might return to middleweight after he defeats Nate Diaz at UFC 279.
Khamzat Chimaev wants to remind the world that he has ambitions of becoming a two-division champion ahead of his welterweight scrap with Nate Diaz at UFC 279.
The undefeated Chechnan made his UFC debut at middleweight and plans to return to that weight class after he disposes of Diaz on Sept. 10.
‘Borz’ is 5-0 in the UFC since making his Octagon debut in 2020, with two wins at middleweight and three at welterweight. The 28-year-old has won all but one of those fights via stoppage, recently going the distance with No. 4-ranked welterweight Gilbert Burns in a Fight of the Year candidate at UFC 273.
Although Khamzat seems to have found a home at welterweight, the No. 3-ranked contender will be returning to middleweight in the future with hopes of ruling not one but two divisions during his projected UFC title reign.
“After (Nate) Diaz, maybe I’m gonna go up (to middleweight),” Chimaev told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t Low Kick MMA). “If (Kamaru) Usman wanna wait a long time, maybe I’m gonna go up to ‘84 (sic) and fight somebody there – because I wanna take both belts.”
UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz takes place on September 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.