Undefeated welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has issued a stark warning to division champion, Leon Edwards – claiming he is the actual kingpin of the division.
Chimaev, slipped to #4 in the official welterweight pile last week following Belal Muhammad’s decision win over common-foe, Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey.
As for Edwards, the Birmingham native most recently headlined UFC 286 back in March of this year in his native England, wrapping up his first title defense with a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in the pair’s championship trilogy rubber match.
Expected to make his Octagon return later this year, Chimaev claimed that the UFC had yet to offer him a concrete fight offer, despite links to a return at UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – in a pairing opposite one-time middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa.
Also expected to make a middleweight division move following a September weight issue ahead of a UFC 279 headliner with Nate Diaz, as per the afore-noted, White, Chechen-born contender, Khamzat Chimaev insisted that he would decide his fighting future and weight to boot.
Sidelined since September of last year, Chimaev, who missed weight by seven-and-a-half pounds for his slated UFC 279 headliner with Diaz, was eventually pulled from the slot, in favor of a co-main event catchweight clash against Kevin Holland, improving to 12-0 with an opening round D’Arce choke submission win.
Khamzat Chimaev takes aim at UFC welterweight kingpin, Leon Edwards
And ahead of his expected comeback clash later this year, Chimaev has issued a notable warning to Edwards – whom he was scheduled to fight on no less than three separate occasions prior to the latter’s championship coronation.
“You know who is the king,” Khamzat Chimaev tweeted in response to Leon Edwards, who described the welterweight division as “light work” and claimed he was unmoved by who he could possibly fight next.
you know who is the king
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) May 8, 2023
