Dana White shuts down Israel Adesanya – Khamzat Chimaev fight amid apparent leak of UFC Saudi Arabia card
An apparent leak on the official Kingdom Arena website tonight, appears to have shown the booking of a middleweight main event fight between former undisputed divisional champion, Israel Adesanya, and the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev for a slated event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 23. next, however, promotional boss, Dana White has firmly shut down suggestions of a bout.
Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since last September, most recently suffering a stunning title loss to former titleholder, Sean Strickland in Australia.
As for Chimaev, the unbeaten Chechen turned in his thirteenth straight win back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – landing a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman in the co-main event of UFC 294.
And tonight, speculation has been rife on social media regarding an impending comeback for Adesanya, after an apparent leak on the official Kingdom Arena – which appeared to sell tickets to punters for a fight against the above-mentioned, Chimaev – at a set UFC Saudi Arabia event on June 23.
Israel Adesanya – Khamzat Chimaev fight denied by Dana White
However, soon thereafter amid chatter online, the above-mentioned organizational CEO, White denied that a bout between Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev was set for June 23. in the Middle East – describing the leak as an apparent “fake post”.
“Not happening,” Dana White posted on his official Instagram Stories accompanied by a fan-made poster featuring Adesanya and Chimaev. “It was a fake post. All the MMA Media thar an with it are the problem. Absolute CLOWNS.”
Over the course of the weekend, however, Israel Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman alluded to an impending booking for his student, claiming the City Kickboxing staple had “answered the call” for a bout.
“I can say that, we’re ready to fight,” Eugene Bareman said. “Israel (Adesanya) is ready to fight. He’s in camp – has been in camp. And we answered a call that said, ‘Can you be ready for this?’ And we assessed it because Israel is coming off an injury.”
“We assessed everything and put everything together, and decided as a team, yeah, let’s get into camp, and let’s start to get fit. Let’s come back a little earlier, at some risk – at some proper risk.” Bareman explained. “And there’s a strong possibility that this fight could happen on this date. And let’s act as if we’re fighting on this date.”
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