Khamzat Chimaev joined an extremely elite group of fighters this past Saturday with his UFC middleweight title win.
On Saturday, the premier promotion returned to Chicago for the first time in six years for UFC 319, headlined by a middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
In what was one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year so far, Chimaev went on to utterly dominate Du Plessis, becoming the new king of the 185lb division.
And just a few hours removed from his title winning performance, ‘Borz’ has already potentially lined up his first title defense, hoping to return at UFC 321 in October.
Sean O’Malley tells Chimaev to move up to light heavyweight
Over his UFC tenure, the Chechen’s reputation has taken somewhat of a hit due to continuous issues with his health, which resulted in him not locking down one division.
Despite that, he came in for the UFC 319 main event at 183lbs, 2lbs lighter than he needed to, potentially showcasing how well his new fight camp went.
And although he has only just won the title at 185lbs and looks as though he could build quite the legacy in the division, he has been told to move up to 205lbs by former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley.
“We just knew it was a matter of time before that dude was champ,” O’Malley said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“So what makes sense for Khamzat Chimaev? Does it make sense for him to fight at 185lbs again or is he just too dominant? Does he go up to 205lbs? (Magomed) Ankalaev is fighting Alex Pereira, even still it’s like, maybe Ankalaev (does well against) Khamzat, it could be interesting, maybe, purely on how big Ankalaev is.
“I don’t think there’s anything to break down against Sean Strickland, even Izzy (Adesanya) as much as I f—— love Izzy, (Nassourdine) Imavov, they’re all strikers dude. You have to match that skill of wrestling, he did that to one of the best grapplers in the division, DDP is no slouch on the ground.
“What a freak of nature. That is years of hard work,” O’Malley continued.
How would Chimaev fare at light heavyweight?
Prior to winning the middleweight title, ‘Borz’ made it clear that he wants to become the first fighter in UFC history to win a title in three weight classes, having previously fought at welterweight.
Although that would arguably be one of the greatest achievements in the sport’s history, it is unlikely that Chimaev moves back down to 170lbs.
However, there is definitely potential that he moves up to light heavyweight, especially if Alex Pereira reclaims his title at UFC 320, as Chimaev’s fight style would be a nightmare for the Brazilian striker.