The sensation that was birthed out of Fight Island, Khamzat Chimaev, is set to make his return to action. Chiefly, Dana White explained that “Borz” intends to stay true to his word of being active in the division. What’s more, he has called his shot at fighting everyone within sight at the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions.
UFC President Dana White spoke out to the media at a scrum ahead of UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Sakai. The event, set for September 5, adds onto the list of events that have taken place in Vegas. The company President touched on a few aspects of the aforementioned event and primarily answered a question atop the minds of fans.
White has been hot on the Russian fighter, who competes out of Sweden, ever since he captured fan attention. The UFC President has been on record to appreciate fighters who are willing to step up and maintain consistency.
Khamzat Chimaev: New fan favourite?
Chimaev broke the record for the shortest time between wins in July, submitting John Phillips in the second round of their middleweight fight on the 15th, and then picking up a first-round submission in a welterweight bout against Rhys McKee just 10 days later. The unbeaten 26-year-old Russian-Swede had fans and media going wild with fantasy booking, but it looks like the UFC’s matchmakers already have a lofty challenge in mind for him: Two-time UFC title challenger Demian Maia.
UFC president Dana White previously revealed he was struggling to get Chimaev into the country and was unable to schedule another fight for the Russian until that hurdle had been cleared.
“We’re working on fight for him here [in Las Vegas], that’s still being worked,” White said. “But we’re talking about him and Demian Maia on Fight Island.”
According to White, Chimaev will be in Las Vegas this weekend and the plan is for him to take a fight at the UFC APEX soon, possibly in September. However, he didn’t have any details in regards to a potential APEX fight instead of throwing out the potential date with Maia.
Neither of Chimaev’s proposed bookings appears close to being finalized just yet, but White is confident that fans will soon get to see the prospect compete in both Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
“He’ll fight here and he’ll fight on Fight Island,” White said of Chimaev. “This guy wants to—I love that. I love that mentality.”
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