Khamzat Chimaev Gives Update on His Potential Fight With Chris Weidman

The rising star of the UFC, Khamzat Chimaev is in a tough position right now. But, many fighters dream to be in this position.

Khamzat Chimaev is having a tough time getting a fight. He is only three fights into his UFC career. And he has not fought a ranked opponent in the welterweight division. But, the impact of his performances is so huge that the ranked opponents see him as a threat.

Earlier Khamzat Chimaev revealed that UFC offered former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman to fight him at middleweight. But Weidman declined the offer. He also stated that Stephen Thompson said no to fight him too. Chimaev stated:

“I just want to let my fans know and the people who support me the ufc offer me wonder boy and he turned it down at 170 and also Chris Weidman at 185 who also turned it down. I’m coming for everyone.”

What to make out of this Khamzat Chimaev situation

Now there are two ways to look at it. Chimaev believes that Wonderboy and Weidman said no to the fight because there is a huge possibility that they might lose the fight. But, why should they take the fight in the first place?

Stephen Thompson is ranked number 6 in the welterweight division. And he has fought for the title twice and lost by a close margin. What has Khamzat Chimaev has done to earn a fight against the former number 1 title contender?

Now it’s a different scenario with Chris Weidman. Though he was the middleweight champion right now he is ranked number 9 in the stacked middleweight division. But again, Khamzat Chimaev has not fought anyone among the top 15 middleweights. Why would Chris Weidman fight someone who is unranked in the division?

It’s good for the sport that UFC is pushing Khamzat Chimaev after consecutive impressive performances. But, the matchmaking for Chimaev has not been done wisely so far.

In the welterweight, Khamzat Chimaev vs Vicente Luque will be a great matchup. Chimaev vs the winner of Robbie Lawler vs Mike Perry would be a great matchup. At middleweight, Khamzat Chimaev vs Marvin Vettori is the fight that makes sense.

Dana White is really high on Chimaev after his last knockout victory and so are the fans. And though getting a fight for Chimaev is a problem it’s a good problem to have for UFC. Chimaev wants to fight every month and that attitude helps immensely in the fight business.