Khamzat Chimaev is still holding out hope that his next fight would be scheduled for March, but it seems like he is having trouble finding a challenger.
The undefeated Chechen, who just defeated Kevin Holland via first-round submission, has travelled to Dubai to begin his training camp for an undetermined fight. Chimaev claims he is willing to compete at middleweight or welterweight but that several opponents have already declined him, which has only made him angrier as he waits for a fresh bout agreement to be sent his way.
“Nobody wants to fight,” Chimaev said in a video blog he posted. “F*** these boys. They gave me four different countries, four different opponents. Nobody wants to fight.”
Chimaev, who has a perfect 6-0 record in the UFC including victories over Gilbert Burns and Li Jingliang, has swiftly become as one of the most talked-about fighters on the UFC roster.
Most recently, UFC president Dana White stated he loved the idea of Chimaev taking on Colby Covington, a two-time contender for the welterweight title, but it doesn’t seem like the matchup is close to being finalised.
Chimaev is open to competition at 185 pounds, but the bout with Covington would obviously take place at welterweight.
“I’m going to fight somebody,” Chimaev said. “I don’t know who. They change opponents all the time. Every week I have a new opponent, but nobody wants to fight.
“The guys trash talk loud about me and ‘I want to fight you, I want to fight you!’ When it comes to the fight and signing the contract, they want to run away.”
Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight for the title
In fact, Khamzat Chimaev already asked for a future fight with Alex Pereira, the current middleweight champion and MMA Fighting’s 2022 Fighter of the Year, who won the championship after stunningly knocking out Israel Adesanya in the fifth round in November.
It is unknown if the UFC will genuinely consider Pereira for a championship chance without first going through a top-10 ranked middleweight. Chimaev may give Pereira or his resume a lot of thought.
“I’m next for the title,” Chimaev said. “Who are these guys going to fight? Alex Pereira has a 6-1 record. He lost. I’ve never lost in my life. He lost to a s*** guy, the guy’s not in the UFC as well.
“UFC don’t want it, the guy don’t want it, what am I going to do? I just want to fight. Give me somebody. If the guys run away from me, just give me somebody. I’m ready.”
Cards for the first quarter of 2023 are already starting to fill up quickly, so Khamzat Chimaev just hopes someone steps up to the plate so he can use all the hard work he’s doing to stay ready for whatever comes next.
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