Khamzat Chimaev hasn’t even settled into his spot as UFC middleweight champion, yet he’s already planning his exit. Just months after dominating Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 to secure the title, Borz has revealed a major twist in his championship run and it’s not what fans expected.
Chimaev stormed into the UFC in 2020 with the aura of an inevitable champion, and many believed he could become the promotion’s first-ever three-division titleholder. However, right after reaching the top at 185, he’s hinting that his middleweight reign might be short-lived.
Recently, Chimaev named Nassourdine Imavov as the likely challenger for his first title defense. But in a new interview with ESPN MMA, he admitted this fight could be his last at middleweight.
“These fights (at middleweight) don’t make me excited but I need to do my job. I need to make money, if there is a big name it is like, to make more money then I will be excited because if you get like $3 million for a fight, when you have a good name (opponent) then you make $5-6 million,” he said.
“I need that kind of fight… But I want to, for sure, one more fight and then I’m gonna go one more weight class up. One more fight then I’ll move up to the next weight class,” Chimaev revealed.
The moment Alex Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight title at UFC 320, Chimaev wasted no time calling him out. Since then, both men have traded shots online, and a potential showdown has already captured the attention of the MMA world.
Chimaev doubled down on that plan during an interview with Brett Okamoto:
“I want for sure one more fight, and then I’m going to go one more weight class up,” he told ESPN MMA. “One more fight, and I move up next fight.”
When asked if Pereira wants the fight, Chimaev didn’t hold back.
“I don’t think he wants that fight,” Chimaev said. “He knows about it, the UFC knows about it, so I can’t say the things that the UFC says to me. It’s going to be disrespectful to Alex because everyone knows this guy is not my level. He’s a good striker, one of the best strikers. I give the respect to him. He has knockout power and everything, but ask whoever, 99 percent in the world who’s watching the UFC, they’re going to tell you who’s going to win that fight.”
Chimaev has not been officially booked for his first title defense, but Imavov remains the frontrunner. His dominant performance against du Plessis, nearly 22 minutes of control time, made it clear that Borz is level above most of the division in grappling.
Still, as the middleweight champion talks more about moving up than staying put, one thing is clear: Khamzat Chimaev already sees his future at 205 pounds, and if that’s the plan, Alex Pereira might be waiting at the top of the mountain.
