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Khamzat Chimaev (14-0) is one of the biggest names in the UFC. 'The Wolf' seems to have overcome the health problems that threatened his career for several years, finding his comfort zone in a middleweight division in which he barely needed a victory against a ranked opponent to have the belt within reach. However, the Chechen's intentions for the future could also be linked to light heavyweight, as in recent days he has used his social networks to 'throw beef' at Alex Pereira (12-2), champion of the category. Parodying 'Poatan's' famous 'chama', Chimaev ed several photos where the Brazilian fighter could be seen being knocked out, which can be interpreted as a provocation with the intention of generating a media rivalry for a future fight. He later deleted the tweets.
The move seems to have backfired on Khamzat, at least for the time being. On the Instagram of @espnmma and @sportscenter, they took advantage of the situation to recall an old clip in which Pereira defined the Chechen as a "moron", something that has not pleased 'Poatan'. "It's very rude of ESPN to dig up an old video to create anger in the community and get views, it's unfortunate," the Brazilian commented. Less than a month away from his fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, the light heavyweight champion does not want distractions.
"I know stylistically this fight is a lot easier for me than others
Chimaev, for his part, has already said that he would be willing to move up in weight class for this fight, which would give him the possibility of having victories in the company in three different categories - welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. "I've always been up for a fight with Pereira. I know stylistically this fight is much easier for me than others. But in striking, being honest, I know the guy can knock me out," he said in an interview with Michael Bisping during UFC 308 fight week. First 'The Wolf' has work to do at middleweight, although he is living up to his famous words of "I want to smash everybody". He is not afraid of anyone.
Dricus Du Plessis ready to spring a surprise
The downside of these long-term beefs is that the protagonists have to go through a tough road before their claims are fulfilled, and in the case of Chimaev, he will find in Dricus Du Plessis a champion willing to break the UFC's plans to make Khamzat its biggest superstar. The South African's victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 313 was his second title defense. Along the way he has already left opponents such as Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya, making use of an unorthodox but effective style.
Taking into Du Plessis' recent fight, it seems that this fight will not take place in the short term, with the date and venue still to be confirmed. Although Chimaev will be the favorite for this matchup, Dricus has been silencing his detractors one by one since his debut in the company, achieving an unbeaten streak of nine wins and six finishes. Determined to make the jump to 205 pounds if he beats 'The Wolf', the champion's roap is similar to that of his next opponent.
Chimaev's health, his great enemy
Since his welterweight debut in 2020, Khamzat has had eight fights, six of which he has finished. However, the big blemish on his career has been the health problems that have given him so many problems in weight cutting. His fight against Kevin Holland in 2022 marked a before and after in his career. The Chechen was supposed to face Nate Diaz, but because he could not make the agreed weight, much of the main card had to be changed, which led to a new scenario with Chimaev facing Kevin Holland in the first round and Nate Diaz doing the same in the fourth with Tony Ferguson. This situation did not please Dana White at all, so the Chechen decided to make the jump to middleweight.
In this category, everything seemed to be going better after his victory over Kamaru Usman in October 2023, a fight that should have been against Paulo Costa, who was injured a few days before the fight. However, in 2024 Khamzat again encountered his ghosts from the past. The UFC scheduled him for a fight against Robert Whittaker in June, but in the middle of the weight cut Chimaev again had serious health problems that forced him to cancel the fight. "The Reaper" knocked out Ikram Aliskerov in his place, and in an act of good faith again asked the Chechen to settle their unfinished business.
The two finally crossed paths last October at UFC 308, in a fight that Chimaev won with ease, which has once again elevated him as one of the company's favorite fighters. His next stop will be Du Plessis, but as he has said on other occasions his goal is to make history, a history that has Alex Pereira as a candidate to be part of the plot.