Khamzat Chimaev thinks he’s next in line for the welterweight title, regardless of whether or not he chose to accept a UFC 279 bout vs. Nate Diaz.
According to Chimaev, he could’ve elected to get an immediate crack at the winner of the UFC 278 main event between champion Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards. Instead, he forwent the secured opportunity in order to stay active.
“If I want to wait for who’s winning the fight (between) Usman and Leon, I get to fight with that guy,” Chimaev said recently on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “I don’t need to fight with Nate Diaz. I fight him for fun. … If I wanted to wait, this is going to take a long time. Usman fought one time in one year. He’s got everything. He’s got money. He’s No. 1 pound-for-pound, that’s why he wants to wait. He takes a long time. He doesn’t want to lose his belt. Everyone knows I’m coming for it, hungry, younger. All of the guys from the top 10, I’m 10 years younger than. They know what’s going to happen if they fight with me.”
Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) will square off Sept. 10 pay-per-view main event, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Should he win, Chimaev plans to fight whoever the welterweight champion is at that time. If the winner wants a long layoff, Chimaev proposed he moves to middleweight – where he has two UFC wins – and make a title push there. Again, activity is the name of his game.
“After Diaz, maybe I’m going to go up if Usman wants to wait a long time,” Chimaev said. “Maybe I’m going to go up to 185 and fight somebody there, because I want to take both belts.”
Chimaev, 28, has largely ripped through his opposition throughout his pro career. In April, Chimaev picked up his most notable win to date with a decision over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. Meanwhile, Diaz is set to compete for the first time since June 2021, in what will be the final fight on his current promotional contract.
Khamzat Chimaev says UFC title shot could’ve been next, but took Nate Diaz ‘for fun’ instead
