Ahead of UFC 319, there were some questions surrounding the future of one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
Khamzat Chimaev recently put an end to rumors of him considering retirement if he’s able to leave Chicago with the middleweight title on August 16.
The undefeated challenger has battled some health issues and travel complications that have slowed his momentum in recent years but now he’s finally set to compete for the title.
He has also made it clear that not only does he plan on sticking around, Chimaev has goals he wants to target in other weight classes.
This could lead to a potential super fight in the near future that some fans clearly did not have on their radar until it was brought up.
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Khamzat Chimaev says beating Islam Makhachev would be the quickest way to pound-for-pound number one status
Within the space of a few months, we could see new UFC champions crowned at both middleweight and welterweight which would completely shake up the divisions.
Ahead of UFC 319, many expected that Khamzat Chimaev’s days of competing as a welterweight were now behind him after he appeared to settle at 185 pounds.
This isn’t the way that the challenger sees it and he wants to test himself at the weight classes below and above him if he’s successful on August 16.
When speaking to the media during his training camp, Chimaev was asked whether that means a potential matchup with Islam Makhachev could be on the cards in the future.
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently said that Makhachev will return in November to challenge welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at Madison Square Garden.
“We will see who is going to be the champ there, but I don’t know,” Chimaev said. “It’s the fastest way, if the guy wins the fight, fastest way to get the pound-for-pound number one.”
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Fans react to Khamzat Chimaev’s comments about potentially facing Islam Makhachev
Fans reacted to Khamzat Chimaev’s comments by giving their initial thoughts on what could be a huge champion versus champion clash in the future.
While many expressed concerns about the middleweight title challenger dropping back down a weight class, many people were excited by the prospect of seeing them go head-to-head, even if there would be a big size discrepancy.
‘I’ll give all my money to Dana [White] if this happens. But.’
‘Now that would be a sick fight.’
‘This fight would break records, I’d like to see it happen.’
‘Now this ladies and gentleman. This is the fight everyone wants to see. This would be bigger than Sean [O’Malley] vs Merab [Dvalishvili].’
‘Ok now THIS would be a CRAZY fight!!!’
‘Islam vs Khamzat would feed families, I hope Islam’s the underdog.’