Khamzat Chimaev has asked the UFC to book him in for a middleweight title rematch against Sean Strickland.
There had been conflicting stories on what Chimaev wanted to do next ever since the Chechen fighter lost a close decision to Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9th. UFC CEO Dana White said after the event that a drained Chimaev had told him he wanted to move to light heavyweight. But after a few days of introspection, word started to circulate that maybe Chimaev didnât want to limp away from middleweight after such a poor showing.
Much hay has been made over the past few weeks on how bad Khamzat Chimaevâs weight cut was coming into UFC 328. As the narrative goes, the UFC took their sweet time deciding whether Khamzat would move up to light heavyweight and fight Jiri Prochazka at UFC 327 or defend the middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 328. They decided to go with the middleweight option, leaving Chimaev with over 45 pounds to cut for Strickland.
According to campmate T.J. Dillashaw, that cut nearly killed Chimaev, which would certainly explain his tepid performance against Strickland.
But does the UFC really want to run back Chimaev vs. Strickland, a fight that wasnât that exciting and left people feeling like they were sold wolf tickets? We get why Khamzat would want it, but why would the UFC give Chimaev the chance to win back the middleweight title just so he can abandon it and move up to light heavyweight?
At some point in some division, you need a champion who isnât just looking to parlay their current belt into a double championship or boxing pitch.
They killed the ârivalryâ by being all buddy-buddy on fight night.
And the fight itself was dog shit.
Zero reason to do a rematch.
rat lipped goat fucking inbred retard
they were tongue kissing at the end
Well, except that the org is obsessed with rematches.
Translation: I realized how big those guys are at 205 and fuck that.
he had 5 rounds to woop him
maybe it was a bad weight cut that left him tired and he plans to fix that for the next fight
I have a feeling the outcome will surprise you.
Sad that TJ is a cuck now and not just a cheater
Make Hazmat fight DDP first. Sean should fight Imavov
I would rather see Costa vs Khamzat
Costa wants that smoke at 205