White Planning Chimaev Vs. Maia For ‘Fight Island’

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) finally has plans in motion to bring rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev back to the Octagon.

Chimaev, who made a huge splash with the promotion this past July by capturing two dominant wins on “Fight Island” in the span of just 10 days, has been unable to make his return to the cage due to visa issues. Those travel restrictions have since been lifted and the undefeated sensation is ready to make his return.

Following UFC Vegas 9’s official weigh ins on Friday (full replay HERE), UFC president Dana White revealed plans to book Chimaev a fight in Vegas in the near future. If Chimaev is able to win that fight then he could find himself in a massive matchup with former UFC title challenger and MMA legend Demian Maia.

“We’re working on fight for him here [in Las Vegas], that’s still being worked,” White said. “But we’re talking about him and Demian Maia on Fight Island.”

Chimaev, 26, is currently 8-0 in his professional MMA career. While the welterweight prospect will surely see an uptick in competition compared to his first two outings against John Phillips and Rhys McKee, Chimaev was able to out-strike both of those fighters for a combined 192-2. That’s insane, especially considering both bouts ended before the third round.

“I think he gets here this weekend,” White said. “… He’ll fight here and he’ll fight on ‘Fight Island.’ This guy wants to (fight). I love that mentality.”

White didn’t reveal specific dates for Chimaev’s potential return but did say it could come this month. Earlier today, Combate reported that middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert is expected to meet Chimaev in Las Vegas on Sept. 19.

What say you, Maniacs? If Chimaev is able to fight his way into a matchup against Maia, who wins?

Sound off!