Welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is willing to accept fights in two different weight classes, but his coach wants him to face middleweight champion Alex Pereira next.
Chimaev (12-0) is ranked No. 3 in the UFC’s 170-pound division, but half of his octagon appearances have been as a middleweight. “Borz” recently said that no one wants to fight him, including Pereira.
“Alex Pereira, he has a 6-1 record. I’ve never lost in my life, and he lost against a sh*t guy. The guy’s not in the UFC as well. UFC don’t want it. The guy don’t want it,” Chimaev said on his YouTube channel.
The UFC may not want it, and Pereira may not want it, but Chimaev’s coach, Andreas Michael, wants the fight.
“Middleweight,” Michael answered when asked what weight class he’d like Chimaev to fight in next. “For the belt. I would like that. That’s the best, an amazing fight.”
Chimaev failed to make weight for his scheduled welterweight match against Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September forcing a last-minute shakeup of the main card.
After failing to make weight, Diaz instead fought Tony Ferguson in the main event while Chimaev faced Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. Holland was originally slated to take on Daniel Rodriguez. Instead, Rodriguez was pitted against Ferguson’s original opponent Li Jingliang.
Michael said that Chimaev could fight at welterweight in his next outing but needs proper notice.
“We can fight at 170. There’s no problem. There’s on problem at all. There is no problem at all,” Michael said in a YouTube video posted by Chimaev. “It’s just good preparation, good warning. If we’re going to drop a lot down in weight, we need time, not this five weeks, or four weeks preparation thing because it’s not doable in that time.”
Forrest Griffin breaks silence on the loss of Stephan Bonnar: ‘I’ll always miss you, brother’
Khamzat Chimaev’s coach wants Alex Pereira middleweight title bout
