Khamzat Chimaev next fight: 5 best options for the ‘Borz’ for his next outing

After his failure to make weight at welterweight Khamzat seems to be moving up a weightclass and will fight top welterweights


Khamzat Chimaev next fight: 5 best options for the ‘Borz’ for his next outing

Khamzat Chimaev at weigh -ins (via: Essentially Sports)

After badly missing weight for his fight against Nate Diaz, Khamzat Chimaev seems to be making a move for the middleweight division. Even though Khamzat has fought in the middleweight division in his earlier fights, the fighters there are no joke. While fans might not be happy with Khamzat missing the weight by this huge of a mark, everyone is excited to know who’s next for Khamzat.

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Khamzat could have easily waited for a title shot at welterweight after his win over Gilbert Burns. However, Borz wanted to fight the Stockton legend, Nate Diaz. Khamzat failed to make weight for the fight and ended up fighting Kevin Holland instead. He defeated Holland with a very dominating performance but was booed after the fight. This and a few other factors led to Khamzat Chimaev moving up a division. Recently in an interview, Dana White said that ‘the wolf’ will be fighting someone from among the Top 3 middleweights.

This decision makes more sense for Khamzat as he defeated the number 2 ranked welterweight in his 5th fight in UFC. However, since Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya are set to fight each other at UFC 287 they might not fight Khamzat soon. Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland train with Khamzat regularly. So a fight against either of them might be possible but chances are the fights won’t go through. This leaves Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker as our best bets.

After the recent change in the hierarchy of power at middleweight, the division has become exciting again. Fans are very excited to pitch in matchups they think might be difficult for Khamzat at the middleweight.

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Related: “Don’t speak about others” – Jiri Prochazka gives cold warning to Khamzat Chimaev for leaking inside-gym information

Khamzat Chimaev might fight Paulo Costa at Abu Dhabi Next

Paulo costa 1

After his win over Holland, Khamzat will be moving up a division. Borz badly missed weight in his fight against Nate Diaz. The show went on as both fighters were given a replacement fight and won. However, fans were upset with Khamzat as they booed him after his win. After this Khamzat made his decision to move up in weight class and fight at middleweight. With Dana White confirming Khamzat will be fighting someone among the Top 3 middleweights next, Paulo Costa seems to be the best bet.

Paulo Costa and Khamzat have a history of calling out each other. They also had an altercation at UFC Performance Institute last year. With this and Khamzat moving up a weight class, this fight might manifest itself. The Eraser might have had contractual issues with the UFC in the past. But ,after his new deal, he will get paid a million dollars per fight. After the announcement of this deal, Costa announced that he wants to fight Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev next.


Costa has already been approached to fight Khamzat at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. With their history and talents, this fight will be a spectacle. So hopefully if this fight takes place we get to see a grappling masterclass.

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Other interesting matchups for Khamzat Chimaev in the middleweight division

#1. Robert Whittaker

robert whittaker

The Australian fighter is possibly the most wholesome you will fight on this list and UFC roster. Don’t let that fool you though. Whittaker might be wholesome outside the cage but inside he is a sworn killer. Robert Whittaker was very interested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev after his callouts. However, Robert confirmed that he hasn’t been offered anything yet. The probability of this fight happening in the future is pretty high and fans can expect some blast in this fight as well.

#2. Israel Adesanya

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Israel Adesanya will face Alex Pereira at UFC 287. Now, Alex has defeated Israel thrice before. There is a chance Alex might be able to pull this again. In a situation like this Israel Adesanya becomes the perfect opponent for Khamzat Chimaev. With a win over Izzy , Khamzat can very easily get a shot at the title.

#3. Alex Pereira

Poatan to move up in weight 1

Alex Pereira is one of the most destructive fighters on the UFC roster. However, his ground game seems to have bit holes as pointed out by many. Agreed that Alex is the champion and there’s no way Khamzat gets a title shot over other middleweights. But a fight between Khamzat and Alex Pereira can be more beneficial to Khamzat due to his superior wrestling and grappling.

#4. Shavkat Rakhmonov

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Now this one might be a bit surprising, although Khamzat is set to make a move to middleweight he calls out a lot of people from welterweight. Khamzat has missed his weight once but he’s made weight many times in the welterweight division. A fight with Shavkat makes more sense for Shavkat himself. Shavkat is a fighter who is rapidly climbing the ranks with his solid performance. While he has a lot to improve his fight against Khamzat doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

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