Khamzat Chimaev was clearly not impressed by Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 271.
‘The Wolf’ took to social media post-fight to call for an “easy money” fight against the UFC middleweight king.
@stylebender easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him,” Chimaev wrote on Twitter.
@stylebender easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) February 13, 2022
Adesanya edged out a second win over Robert Whittaker on the judges’ scorecards. ‘The Last Stylebender’ was taken down on several occasions in the fight but always managed to impressively pop straight back up.
Earlier on the UFC 271 fight card, Jared Cannonier established himself as the middleweight number one contender with a vicious second-round KO win over Derek Brunson. Post-fight, UFC president Dana White seemed to confirm that Cannonier will get the next shot at Adesanya.
“I was excited to see that fight to see how it played out,” White said. “It was an exciting fight. And yeah, I’m not going to say no to Cannonier.”
Khamzat Chimaev Still Has Work To Do At Welterweight
Chimaev burst onto the scene in the summer of 2020 and made an instant impact when he fought twice in the space of 10 days.
The Dagestani native made his promotional debut at middleweight against Welsh puncher John Phillips. Chimaev was so dominant in his first UFC round that one judge scored it 10-7 in his favour. A round later he wrapped up his first Octagon win by way of D’arce choke.
Just 10 days later, Chimaev dropped down to welterweight to take on UFC debutante and Cage Warriors standout, Rhys McKee. This time he looked even better, dominating McKee from the opening bell and finding the finish inside the first round.
In September 2020, Chimaev moved to 3-0 in the UFC as he picked up the biggest win of his career with a spectacular one-punch KO of Gerald Meerschaert. The long-time UFC middleweight was a considerable step in opposition and many suspected that ‘GM3’ could spring the upset. However, Chimaev silenced his doubters with the first punch he landed which closed the show in just 17 seconds.
Chimaev returned from a year-long layoff at UFC 267. ‘The Wolf’ faced the toughest test of his 10-fight career when he squared off against Li Jingliang in Abu Dhabi.
‘Borz’ reminded everyone why he is one of the most exciting prospects in MMA when he picked up Jingliang, carried him over to the corner Dana White was sitting in, and then slammed him to the mat in that area so he could chat with the UFC president.
Chimaev made the toughest test of his career to date look like a stroll in the park, submitting Jingliang in just over three minutes.
The 27-year-old now seems set to face Gilbert Burns next in what appears to be a number one contender fight. If victorious, Chimaev should get a shot at Kamaru Usman in 2022. After that, maybe he can start to think about trying to dethrone Adesanya.
Do you think Khamzat Chimaev could beat Israel Adesanya?