Whittaker Open To Chimaev Smesh Sesh

The “Smesh Bros” may only continue to grow if Khamzat Chimaev gets his wish.

Chimaev put on yet another dominant performance at UFC 279 this past weekend (Sept. 10, 2022), defeating Kevin Holland via first round d’arce choke submission (watch highlights). As he’s done in all but one of his UFC fights up until this point, Chimaev completely avoided any damage.

Going forward, the No. 3-ranked Welterweight contender has some options. Chimaev missed weight by a whopping seven and a half pounds, resulting in the change to him facing Holland instead of Nate Diaz. Afterward, a Middleweight return against someone like a former champion, Robert Whittaker, was mentioned. Chimaev labeled “The Reaper” a “nice guy” and insisted he’d rather train together than fight.

“I’m happy with that,” Whittaker laughed when speaking to Middle Easy. “Chimaev, his personality is just what you see is what you get. He’s wild, but he’s a phenomenal fighter. I like his approach on hunting bad guys (laughs). I was really impressed with that Holland fight and I’m very interested in seeing where he goes with it.

“Definitely,” he continued. “[Him wanting to train together] is a compliment. I’d like to work with him because anyone that can implement gameplans the way he has, and obviously, his wrestling and grappling is top tier. He’s trained with the likes of [Darren] Till as well. Yeah, one day hopefully our paths cross and we can get some good work together.”

Just one week prior to Chimaev’s recent victory, Whittaker got back in the win column with a masterful performance of his own. The Australian chipped away at Marvin Vettori in the UFC Paris co-main event en route to a unanimous decision nod (watch highlights). Still sitting at No. 1 in the Middleweight ranks, Whittaker will keep a close eye on the upcoming title tilt at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022.