Khamzat Chimaev declares himself ‘King’ of UFC middleweight, welterweight divisions: ‘Just give me a title shot’
Undefeated welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has declared himself as the “king” of both his current division – and a division he is expected to move to in his Octagon comeback later this year; middleweight.
Chimaev, the current #4 ranked welterweight contender, slipped from the top-3 in the official welterweight rankings earlier this month, following Belal Muhammad’s impressive unanimous decision win over common-foe, former title challenger, Gilbert Burns at UFC 288.
Yet to feature since September of last year in the co-main event of UFC 279, in a period of fierce inactivity for the Chechnya native, Chimaev most recently improved to 12-0 as a professional with a first round D’Arce choke submission victory against Kevin Holland.
Expected to make a move to the middleweight limit for an Octagon return later this year, earmarked for UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – Chimaev has been linked with a fight against former pound-for-pound number one and former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
Khamzat Chimaev calls for UFC championship opportunities
Claiming this week that he would also defeat two-time and current undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya without strikes if they competed against each other, Chimaev has now declared himself as the “king” of both the welterweight and middleweight limits.
“I want to fight for the title, so for me it doesn’t matter which weight class,” Khamzat Chimaev said on his YouTube channel. “I can go [170 pounds], but i don’t want to make weight for a nobody at [170 pounds], why am i going to do that? I’m number three – actually, that number for me is nothing. I feel I’m the king of this weight class and I’m the king of [185 pounds] as well.”
“So, just give me a title shot,” Khamzat Chimaev explained. “I’m ready for both. I’m ready for (Kamaru) Usman. I’m ready Leon (Edwards), I’m ready for Israel (Adesanya). Doesn’t matter. I’m ready for everybody. Just ask Dana (White) when I say no. Never. I want to fight I am the best, and when you feel you’re the best you have to fight with the best, everyone.”
