A fighter has laid down a challenge to Khamzat Chimaev ahead of his first title defense.
Chimaev seemingly doesn’t plan on staying at middleweight for too long, with him already having his eyes on the light heavyweight division.
It’s going to be some time before the undefeated champion is back in action due to an operation that will keep him out for a few months.
However, Chimaev has named Nassourdine Imavov as his first challenger, though he’s since admitted that he doesn’t really want this fight.
A fighter that ‘Borz’ has history with wants to make the champion’s return even more interesting by throwing a wager on top of it.
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How many fights should have Khamzat Chimaev have before moving up a weight class and who should he face?
Let us know what you want to see from the middleweight champion in the comments below.
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Joaquin Buckley offers Khamzat Chimaev money if he strikes for one round in his next fight
Khamzat Chimaev’s title win at UFC 319 was one of the most dominant performances of the year.
In fact, it was so one-sided that it may have been the most uncompetitive title fight that has ever taken place inside the Octagon.
However, many criticized Chimaev’s performance against Dricus du Plessis for being too conservative because he didn’t threaten his opponent despite being in complete control of him.
UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley doesn’t want to see this happen again, specifically when the champion returns to take on Nassourdine Imavov in 2026.
In a video on Instagram, ‘New Mansa’ shared his reaction to footage of Chimaev hitting pads, questioning why he’s practising his striking if he’s not going to use it.
“So look Khamzat, this is what I’m gonna do for you. If you [are] able to stay on your feet for one round, just on your feet and not use your wrestling, I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars. Oh, you heard me right… Guess what? Nassourdine, if you’re able to match that, that means that’s a hundred thousand.”
Khamzat Chimaev was ready to fight Joaquin Buckley backstage in 2022
It appears that Khamzat Chimaev wanted to strike in his title win earlier this year but it was his team who were pushing him to stick to their winning strategy.
One thing we know for sure about the middleweight champion is that he doesn’t back down from fights, which Joaquin Buckley found out about first-hand.
Ahead of UFC 273 in 2022, Buckley was asking Darren Till about them being matched up in the future, only for Chimaev to interrupt the conversation.
A fairly polite conversation between Till and Buckley turned into an intense Chimaev calling the welterweight out and threatening that he’d fight him right then and there.
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