Khamzat Chimaev believes UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira would be the easiest fight of his career.
Pereira will put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch against Israel Adesanya at UFC 287. Should he win, there is a good chance that he may lock horns with Chimaev, whose next fight will be against a top-three middleweight contender, according to Dana White.
Chimaev is 12-0 as a professional MMA fighter, with his most recent win coming against Kevin Holland at UFC 279. He is itching to get back inside the Octagon and is potentially one win away from a title shot, whether at welterweight or middleweight. The middleweight top three currently consists of Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and Marvin Vettori, with Jared Cannonier sitting at number four and Paulo Costa sitting at number five. All of whom will be fantastic matchups for the Chechen-Swede.
Khamzat Chimaev On Alex Pereira
In a recent appearance on MMA Fighting’s The MMA Hour (as transcribed by BJPenn.com), Chimaev said that he’d stop Alex Pereira within a minute if they ever crossed paths.
“He’s the most easy fight for me in the UFC,” Chimaev said. “Yeah, in my career, brother. First round. First minute. Easy. No punch, nothing. If Israel trains just wrestling in this training camp he will beat him [Pereira], easily. The guy has zero wrestling. The UFC likes to push the guy, crazy guy, he’s always serious, that s***. I don’t like that guy. Who has wrestled that he has wrestled in his career?”
In November last year, Pereira claimed that Chimaev was offered to fight him at light heavyweight but he turned it down. ‘Borz’ said he accepted it, but the Brazilian was the one to turn it down.
Do you agree with Khamzat Chimaev?
