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Khamzat Chimaev issues warning ahead of UFC 297 title fight: ‘I didn’t know I was scaring them so much’

Khamzat Chimaev issues warning ahead of UFC 297 I didn't know I was scaring them so much Unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev remains steadfast in his claim to a title shot in his return to the…

Unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev remains steadfast in his claim to a title shot in his return to the Octagon – claiming he was unaware his recent targets, Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis were so scared of him ahead of their own battle at UFC 297 this month.

Chimaev, the current number nine ranked middleweight contender, improved to 13-0 as a professional back in October at UFC 294, turning in a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman in his return to active competition.

Landing in the top-10 off the back of his middleweight return victory, Chechen-born contender, Chimaev suffered a hand ligament injury in the opening round of the bout, and has since undergone a surgical procedure to address the setback, as well as battling a worrying, unknown illness.

Eyeing a championship challenge in his immediate return, Chimaev’s claim has been immediately shot down by du Plessis, who questions the validity of his stake, while Strickland has questioned the meritocracy in which he’s earned a tilt recently.

Khamzat Chimaev mocks Strickland et du Plessis

And sure to have a keen eye on UFC 297 later this month ahead of Strickland’s title defense premiere against South African contender, du Plessis, Chimaev claims he wasn’t aware he was “scaring” the duo.

“They have a fight soon, but they both think about me, I didn’t know that I was scaring them so much,” Khamzat Chimaev posted on his official X account.

Preferring a title defense against arch-enemy, Israel Adesanya – who will be in attendance in ‘The Great White North’ should he defeat Strickland, du Plessis claimed a fight with gold on the line against Chimaev made less than sense.

“As far as I know Khamzat’s (Chimaev) a welterweight,” Dricus du Plessis said. “What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight [in Kamaru Usman]. Gerald Meerschaert? When was that? Was he even ranked? No, he wasn’t ranked. So, that makes absolutely no sense.”

“The UFC promised him a title fight?” Dricus du Plessis questioned. “Where in the world does that happen? And he says he’s fighting (Sean) Strickland. No, you’re not. If there’s a champion, if you get a title shot, I’m the champion, You’re not going to get a title shot. And Israel? That makes sense.”

Do you think Khamzat Chimaev deserves a title fight next?

Dricus du Plessis shuts down title fight with Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 297: ‘It makes absolutely no sense’

Ahead of his championship tilt at UFC 297 later this month, incoming title challenger, Dricus du Plessis claims the…

Ahead of his championship tilt at UFC 297 later this month, incoming title challenger, Dricus du Plessis claims the chances of him defending the belt should win in a clash against Khamzat Chimaev are slim to none – questioning the validity of the Chechen’s title aspirations.

Headlining UFC 297 this month in the organization’s return to Canada, du Plessis takes on incumbent welterweight kingpin, Sean Strickland in his first foray for the belt since landing in the promotion back in 2020.

Earning his title fight with a stunning win back in July during International Fight Week, du Plessis landed a shocking knockout win over former title challenger, Robert Whittaker in the pair’s championship-eliminator.

And as far as Chimaev is concerned, his October victory over former undisputed welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman has earned him a title fight in his return to the Octagon.

Dricus du Plessis downplays Khamzat Chimaev fight after UFC 297

Claiming he has been guaranteed the victor of UFC 297’s headlining title fight, incoming challenger, du Plessis insists a fight with the unbeaten star makes no sense in his immediate fighting future.

“As far as I know Khamzat’s (Chimaev) a welterweight,” Dricus du Plessis told MMA Junkie during a recent interview. “What middleweight did he fight? He fought at middleweight, but he fought a welterweight [in Kamaru Usman]. Gerald Meerschaert? When was that? Was he even ranked? No, he wasn’t ranked. So, that makes absolutely no sense.”

Who wins in a future title fight: Dricus du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev?

Chris Weidman offers to step in against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in place of Paulo Costa

Former UFC middleweight Chris Weidman offers to step in for Paulo Costa and take on Khamzat Chimaev on short…

Former UFC middleweight Chris Weidman offers to step in for Paulo Costa and take on Khamzat Chimaev on short notice.

Come fight night, the UFC 294 card is set to look considerably different to than it did just at the beginning of the week. Charles Oliveira is out of his fight with Islam Makhachev and will be replaced by Alexander Volkanovski.

Now it seems that Costa will be replaced in his co-main slot against Chimaev after the Brazilian announced that had surgery on his elbow just a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, it’s possible,” White said of the fight falling through. “Hopefully in a couple hours I’ll have an answer for you.

“We’re talking to a couple of people right now.”

If Costa is to be pulled out of the Chimaev bout, it would mark yet another cancelled fight, which is unfortunate considering his fun and explosive fighting style

Chris Weidman calls for matchup

While finding an opponent for Chimaev on just 10 days notice, and considering the fight being all the way in Abu Dhabi, there will be someone brave enough. Going through the top-15 there isn’t a whole lot of names that could realistically take the fight considering injuries, bookings and individual situations.

However, Chris Weidman threw his name his name into contention, and really that’s no shock considering the gameness of the 39-year-old. ‘The All-American’ has taken on the best if the best since entering the UFC at just 6-0.

“I’d be down for that fight with Chimaev”, Weidman Tweeted following the news of a potential Costa pull out.

Weidman is at the end of the career and has just come back after a horrific leg break. The former 185lb king has also began to take more loses as of late, but was incredible during his prime.

Should Chris Weidman be sent in to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 296?

Bo Nickal talks up future battle with Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 300: ‘That’s a fight that I win’

Slated to make his third Octagon walk at UFC 300 in April, unbeaten wrestling ace, Bo Nickal remains supremely…

Slated to make his third Octagon walk at UFC 300 in April, unbeaten wrestling ace, Bo Nickal remains supremely confident of beating fellow unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev in a future pairing – which fans within the space believe is almost a certainty in the near future.

Nickal, a former two-time feature on Dana White’s Contender Series, continues his high-profile run in the promotion this year as he makes his return in search of a third consecutive victory, as he takes on Cody Brundage.

As for Chimaev, the unbeaten middleweight contender turned in the most high-profile and notable victory of his also brief Octagon tenure back in October of last year in the co-main event of UFC 294.

Drawing former undisputed welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman, Chechen-born contender, Chimaev landed a close, majority decision victory over the Auchi native, however, has been sidelined through hand surgery and a mysterious illness in the time since his triumph.

Bo Nickal claims he wins a future fight with Khamzat Chimaev

And playing up the possibility of a future pairing with the surging Chimaev, Nickal, who made short work of both Jamie Pickett and then Val Woodburn in March and July of last year, respectively, claims he would likely hand Chimaev a defeat if they share the Octagon in the future.

“He’s a tough guy, of course,” Bo Nickal told MMA Fighting of Khamzat Chimaev. “When you have a guy like Kamaru Usman, who is one of the all-time greats at his weight class, he was a champion, defended the belt multiple times, good wrestling base, and he [Chimaev] is able to take him down and control him like what he did in the first round, I think there’s a lot to be said for that.”

“But, at the same time, I believe in myself, and I think my skills match up very well against him,” Bo Nickal explained. “I feel like that’s a fight that I win.”

Who wins a potential future showdown: Khamzat Chimaev or Bo Nickal?

Paulo Costa determined to make ‘Dream Fight’ against Khamzat Chimaev a reality: ‘It Has to Happen’

Though he’s already scheduled for a scrap with Robert Whittaker on February 17, Paulo Costa has high hopes that…

Though he’s already scheduled for a scrap with Robert Whittaker on February 17, Paulo Costa has high hopes that he’ll share the Octagon with Khamzat Chimaev in 2024.

Costa and Chimaev have been looking to settle their rivalry inside the cage for some time. They nearly did just that in October when they were scheduled to square off as part of the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, Costa was forced to withdraw from the contest after developing an infection in his elbow that required multiple surgeries to repair.

Chimaev went on to earn a majority decision against late-notice replacement Kamaru Usman while Costa has moved on to a meeting with Robert Whittaker, scheduled for UFC 298 next month.

Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, ‘The Eraser’ shared some insight as to why he opted to accept a fight with Whittaker rather than attempting to rebook his long-awaited meeting with the undefeated Chechen monster.

“I was trying to fight Gourmet Chen Chen — Chimaev,” Costa said. “I was trying. Since I could not fight, and he fought against Kamaru — he won, but he didn’t convince anyone I don’t think, me and the people I talk with, at least, and most of the fans I don’t think. I was not convinced he’s the guy, No. 1 contender. So I keep trying that fight, pushing for that fight. ‘OK guys, let’s make this fight happen,’ and what Hunter and the UFC guys said he’s not going to fight until June or July or something like that. …

“So then I needed to move. They said, ‘We have Whittaker.’ I said OK, let’s go” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Though he has an incredibly tough test against ‘The Reaper’ closing in, Paulo Costa still has his sights firmly set on throwing hands with Chimaev, preferably with the UFC middleweight title up for grabs.

“My dream fight is for the belt against Chen Chen,” Costa said. “I have no question about one fight, one matchup against Chimaev. I can bet everything on me. I’m so confident in that fight.

“This should happen, it has to happen. But they cannot force [him]. You don’t know how much everybody from the UFC forced, they actually forced Khamzat to fight me in Abu Dhabi. He [turned is down] three times last year. They put him in the corner and said, ‘OK, so you’re going to fight no one if you don’t fight Paulo.’ They made him a very good contract, like $2 million, to sign this deal. But Allah saved him. God saved him, just for now.”

Costa’s return to the Octagon will be his first fight since a bizarrely entertaining tussle with former middleweight titleholder Luke Rockhold in August 2022. Since then, Costa has seen three fights fall through for varying reasons.

Here’s to hoping that we’ll actually see ‘Borrachinha’ make the walk in a few short weeks.

Khamzat Chimaev vows to compete for championship in return ahead of UFC 297: ‘They promised me that fight’

Khamzat Chimaev says he has been guaranteed a shot at middleweight gold ahead of UFC 297 later this month. …

Khamzat Chimaev says he has been guaranteed a shot at middleweight gold ahead of UFC 297 later this month.

While Chimaev’s career may not have panned out exactly how man saw, the 29-year-old is still undefeated and Is not far off getting his shot at UFC gold. For a while, Chimaev winning the welterweight title, but weight issues has forced ‘Borz’ to seek for a title at 185lbs.

That shot may come against the reigning middleweight champion, Strickland, who Chimaev seems confident of beating.

Chimaev is undoubtably physically talented but also sees his faith as a massive part of his success. In fact, Chimaev claims that those who compete against Muslim fighters should ‘be afraid’.

“I don’t know, man,” Khamzat Chimaev said during a recent interview with Mohammed Hijab. “He has to be afraid. Inshallah we fight with everyone, so the fights in the cage is not that big thing. If we can make some people happy who is going through hard times and all Muslims watching us and me and Khabib, all the Muslim fighters, Belal, we know all of the kids, our kids they’re watching, they want to be like us. (H/T MiddleEasy)

“They [fighters competing against Muslims] should be afraid of us,” Chimaev continued. “We fight not just for us like they do, we fight for all Muslims.”

Khamzat Chimaev confident of title shot being next

The middleweight divison is wide open at the moment as there is several fighters who could realistically end up as champion by 2024. However, Chimaev sees only himself being in that discussion and is suyre that he will fight for, and win, UFC gold next.

“A hundred percent,” Chimaev said. “He [Sean Strickland] has good fighter who he’s fighting with, Du Plessis, and if he wins against this guy for sure we’re gonna fight 100 percent. They promised for me that fight, so now we’re gonna wait who’s winning the fight and then take the belt.”

Strickland and Du Plessis are set to square-off in the main event of UFC 297 on January 21 and settle their bubbling feud.

Who wins, Sean Strickland or Khamzat Chimaev?