Khamzat Chimaev has been ready to go.
The man known as “Borz” hasn’t been seen in action since UFC 279 in Sept. 2022. In the co-main event of the evening, Chimaev made quick and dominant work over his adversary, Kevin Holland, en route to a first-round d’arce choke submission (watch highlights).
Chimaev’s time at welterweight — at least for the time being — seems to have ended on that night after he missed the 171-pound weight limit by 7.5 pounds. All discussions regarding the current No. 3-ranked contender have been related to Middleweight, where he’s fought on multiple occasions. With nothing currently booked, Chimaev wants to clear the air after UFC President, Dana White, recently stated “personal stuff” was preventing getting “Borz” back in action.
“I have no problems with fights,” Chimaev tweeted. “if they gave me a fight, I would have fought a long time ago, I did so many training camps and not one fight, the problem is definitely not with me, prepared in Dubai then to Thailand, why do I train so much if there is no fight, I don’t understand”
Chimaev has been vocal about his desire to compete for the title at Middleweight with callouts of the current and former champions, Israel Adesanya, and Alex Pereira. Unfortunately for him, he’ll likely need to get through one top contender before making that dream a reality.
Names like Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker have been mentioned as possibilities for Chimaev atop 185 pounds. With the latter now being matched against Dricus du Plessis in July 2023, Chimaev seems left with no one else but Costa at this juncture. The two already have a slight history as well, dating back to UFC 279 fight week when the pair got into a brief altercation at the UFC Performance Institute (P.I.).