Should Khamzat Chimaev remain in the welterweight division, there’s only one fight that makes sense – and it may prove to be his hardest.
When the Chechen missed weight by seven and a half pounds at UFC 279, there were murmurs of a move to the middleweight division to make a run at the title there. However, Chimaev seems to have quelled those rumors yesterday when he called for a fight with Colby Covington on social media.
Daniel Cormier, himself having won championship title’s in two divisions, believes Chimaev is making the right move by defending his position at 170 pounds, but opined on his YouTube channel that overcoming Covington will be no small task for ‘Borz’.
“Colby Covington can match Khamzat in most of those areas where we will generally say Khamzat has the advantages,” Cormier said in the video. “Wrestling, cardio – Colby can match those. What Colby can’t match is the power of Khamzat Chimaev. That’s where he might have a little bit of [an] issue. But as he has shown on a number of occasions – even if he may not be the most powerful guy in terms of singular strikes – Colby Covington’s pace, his pressure, and his real spirit and desire to win fights, is what allows him to compete at the highest level.”
“We have seen him melt people,” he continued. “If you recall, in the Gilbert Burns fight, Chimaev was starting to fatigue as the fight went longer. So it’s a very interesting match up in what could potentially be the most difficult match up for Khamzat Chimaev. I’m all in if he can make the weight.”
The AllStar MMA roundup
- Inside scoop: How hard is it to get an MMA contract? One fighter’s view
- UFC Vegas 61: The AllStar’s Best Bets, curated by our resident Fight Analyst
- UFC Vegas 61: Chelsea Chandler to drag Julija Stoliarenko into deep waters – ‘she fades in the second & third round’
- Breakdown: Islam Makhachev is like Khabib Nurmagomedov but with better striking, says Matt Frevola
- UFC Vegas 61: Randy Costa to nullify the threats, put Guido Cannetti’s lights out
The best of the rest
- Bo Nickal opens as astronomical favorite for debut UFC fight against Jamie Pickett – MMAFighting.com
- Scott Coker: Bellator has ‘every intention’ to re-sign Cris Cyborg, will ‘be in the Cyborg business for many years to come – MMAFighting.com
- Dana White says ‘it’s a little too soon’ for Kevin Holland to retire, chalks up post to emotions – MMAJunkie.com
- Kayla Harrison trilogy, five other $1M title bouts top PFL’s expensive debut on PPV – BJPenn.com
- Jake Paul reveals MMA debut could be incoming after Anderson Silva bout: “I’m working with a big organization right now”- BJPenn.com
The soapbox
Darren Till sounds off on DC’s haters:
Paulo’s still rocking Khamzat’s hat:
Jamahal Hill is salty with the UFC over the addition of Bo Nickal to UFC 4:
Uncle Dana trying to coax Big Mouth out of retirement with some custom Nikes:
The thoughts of a fighter cutting weight:
Jiri the traveller:
Adrian Yanez and Terrance McKinney are set to throw down with controllers instead of fists:
A thought on fighter pay:
The morning view
Coach Sean Madden breaks down Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira:
The boys from Propping you up have your bets covered for UFC Vegas 61:
Dan Hardy previews Mackenzie Dern vs Yan Xiaonan:
Chael on Pereira’s hoverboard training method:
Done deals
Friday
- Bo Nickal to fight Jamie Pickett at UFC 282 on December 10th (per Brett Okamoto)
Thursday
- Rafael dos Anjos to fight Bryan Barberena at UFC Orlando on December 3rd (per Combate)
- Arman Tsarukyan to fight Damir Ismagulov at UFC Vegas 66 on December 17th (per Marcel Dorf)
- Kelvin Gastelum to fight Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Vegas 67 on January 14th (per La Sueur)
- Brad Tavares to fight Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Laerte Viana)
- Josiane Nunes to fight Zarah Fairn at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Guilherme Cruz)
- Daniel da Silva to fight Vinicius Salvador at UFC 282 on December 10th (per Raphael Marinho)
Wednesday:
- Jose Johnson to fight Vince Morales at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19th (per Alex Behunin)
Tuesday
- Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo in the works for UFC 283 on Jan 21st (per Rodrigo Gonzalez)
Monday
- Derrick Lewis to fight Serghei Spivac at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19th (per UFC)
- Chris Curtis to fight Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282 on December 10th (per Iridium Sports)
- Gabriel Bonfim to fight Mounir Lazzez at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Iridium Sports)
- Yamato Nishikawa replaces J. Mullarkey to fight Magomed Mustafaev at UFC 280 on October 22nd (per MMA Fight Universe)
On this day in MMA…
On the 30th of September, 2010, a 24-year-old Micheal Chandler made his Bellator debut at Bellator 31.
Chandler, with an unblemished record of three wins, took down his opponent, Scott Stapp (not the guy from that horrible band Creed) early, making light work of the 2-0 fighter from there with heavy and relentless ground and pound. Referee Jason Herzog stepped in to halt the action at just 1:57 of the first round.
For the next eight fights spanning over three years, Chandler would remain undefeated, taking the Bellator lightweight title from veteran Eddie Alvarez.
Chandler would remain under the Bellator umbrella until 2020 when, after a 10-year stint with the organization, he fought out his contract to test the waters of the UFC’s 155-pound division; where he remains to this day.
