Outside Source
Khamzat Chimaev will get his first title shot at UFC 319. | Getty/UFC
It took a little longer than expected, but Khamzat Chimaev’s chance to vie for Ultimate Fighting Championship gold has arrived.
“Borz” will face reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 319 headliner on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago. After beginning his promotional tenure at 170 pounds, Chimaev has found a home at middleweight.
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The Chechen-born fighter took the MMA world by storm with a trio of dominant victories in 2020, and it seemed a lock that he would be fighting for a title in the near future. However, issues with health and making weight slowed Chimaev’s progress — though he has yet to suffer a defeat in eight UFC appearances thus far.
While Chimaev has a difficult task in front of him, he hasn’t ruled out a return to welterweight sometime in the future.
“I work with a new coach. I talk to him about going down again, back to my first fights at 170. He said if they give me a couple months, we’re gonna make it,” Chimaev told ESPN.
“This Australian guy [welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena] would be a good fight for me. I go down, fight with him and could take the belt there.”
Della Maddalena is expected to make his first 170-pound title defense against ex-lightweight king Islam Makhachev in the near future. A date for that proposed bout has not been announced.
Chimaev also believes he is capable of moving up yet again and making waves in the light heavyweight division.
“If I go up, and there is [Magomed] Ankalaev and Alex Pereira — they are fighting now,” Chimaev said. “I can fight for that belt as well.”
Chimaev Reveals Primary Source of Motivation
After defeating Pereira to capture the 205-pound strap at UFC 313, Ankalaev will face “Poatan’ in a rematch at UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas. While there have been a number of two-division champions in the UFC, no fighter has captured titles in three different weight classes. Ultimately, Chimaev says the primary focus to defeat the opponent in front of him — championship hardware is one of the perks that comes with winning.
“For me it will be most important to have money and make my family a good life. I think about my opponent, to win against him and [it’s] most important to beat that guy,’ he said. “It’s not that important to have a belt. If I beat him, of course they’re going to have a belt, as well. So first thing I think about the guy, then comes the belt as well.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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