Fans have been wondering what weight class ‘Borz’ Khamzat Chimaev will be competing in next. UFC president Dana White recently told reporters that the Swedish fighters’ next bout will be at middleweight.
Khamzat Chimaev has jumped between welterweight and middleweight for his entire UFC career. The unbeaten MMA fighter was recently booked to face Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout but massively missed the mark and threw the entire event into disarray. Since then, White has remained firm that ‘Borz’ will have to fight at middleweight.
Dana White says Khamzat Chimaev will be fighting at middleweight
The good news for Khamzat Chimaev is that the UFC president is aiming to put him in a match against a top-three-ranked opponent. While speaking at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference, White explained:
“Yeah He’ll fight at middleweight … He’s in a position where he should be fighting top three guys in the world.”
While White is insisting that Chimaev fights at middleweight, ‘Borz’ is aiming for the top athletes at welterweight. Regarding Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman at 286 for the welterweight throne, Chimaev said:
“Soon I’ll take my belt from this two clowns.”
Borz’ has also called out top-ranked welterweight Colby Covington for a match. Chimaev said:
“Colby (Covington) is lying, he doesn’t want to fight. I swear with everything I have – I swear with the Gods. I accepted that fight four times.”
According to Chimaev, Covington has continued to reject the match against him. ‘Borz’ has his eyes on the welterweight throne while the UFC is pushing him into a middleweight bout. Time will tell what the future holds for Khamzat Chimaev.
See the full press conference below: