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Chimaev dominantly won the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in August 2025. While Chimaev is yet to defend his title, he is now calling for a light heavyweight title shot against Alex Pereira. Usman believes Chimaev’s call for a light heavyweight title shot might not be fueled just by double championship aspirations. Usman believes “Borz” is struggling to cut down to middleweight. Considering Chimaev’s size, “The Nigerian Nightmare” finds it ridiculous that the undefeated Chechen-born used to cut down to welterweight at one point. Usman also conjectures that Chimaev wouldn’t mind opening the door at middleweight for Nassourdine Imavov by moving up to light heavyweight.
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Too Big for Middleweight?
“For Khamzat Chimaev to continue to call [Pereira] out, I think Khamzat potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s like, ‘Let me go to a new division where I can make the weight and I can capture that,’” Usman said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “Because there’s all types of rumors coming out saying he is 230 pounds. Khamzat is a big guy. Khamzat’s always been the big guy. The fact that Khamzat was making 170 pounds is just ridiculous as Anthony Johnson when he was making 170 pounds… And if he goes up there and gets that title, that opens the door for another Russian, Nassourdine Imavov, to get that middleweight title.”
Chimaev (15-0) had multiple weight misses at welterweight and was forced to permanently move up to middleweight after missing weight by a whopping 7.5 lbs in 2022. While Imavov (17-4) is arguably the most deserving middleweight contender, he and Chimaev don’t seem too keen on fighting each other. They share deep roots, as Imavov was born in Dagestan and Chimaev was born in Chechnya. Imavov recently revealed that his mother advised him against fighting a “brother” in Chimaev.
Kamaru Usman believes Khamzat is struggling with the weight cut, that’s why he wants to move up 👀😲
“For Khamzat Chimaev to continue to call Pereira out, I think Khamzat potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s like, ‘Let me go to a new division where… pic.twitter.com/IA1G671HcT
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) February 2, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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