The UFC’s middleweight titleholder took to social media to call out a fellow champion.
Chimaev recently said that ‘nobody wants to fight’ when he was asked when fans can expect to see him step back inside the Octagon.
‘Borz’ initially planned a quick turnaround after his title win in August, but those plans were interrupted by an injury.
His history of pullouts and injuries had already raised questions about how often he would fight as champion.
Chimaev has not defended his belt yet, but his interest in facing Alex Pereira has made it clear he is considering a move up rather than staying at 185 pounds.
Khamzat Chimaev says he does not respect Alex Pereira’s team after comments
Chimaev has previously indicated that Nassourdine Imavov will be his next opponent when he finally returns to defend his middleweight belt.
The Chechen fighter is not showing much interest in sticking around to clear out the division before taking on other challenges.
‘Borz’ has said he plans one more fight at 185 pounds before moving up to light heavyweight.
Chimaev reignited his rivalry with the 205-pound champion, Alex Pereira, by targeting him again in a series of social media posts.
“If you show respect, I show back respect. Chama team talk too much, that’s why no respect anymore,” he wrote on X.
Prior to this, the 31-year-old had highlighted what he believes separates him from the Brazilian champion, sharing images on social media of Pereira and his coach – Glover Teixeira, a former light heavyweight champion – after they suffered losses in the UFC.
“‘Borz’ 15 W. ‘Chama’ 13 W, and 3 losses. Only this is the difference between us,” he said before that post.
Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC title run raises early questions
Din Thomas took some flak for saying Chimaev holding a UFC belt would be bad for the sport.
Beyond his lack of activity, the suggestion that he might leave middleweight after just one title fight is not likely to go down well with fans either.
The way he won the title was also criticised, so it has been a rocky start to his time as champion.
‘Borz’ could change that with some strong showings, but the wait for those performances is already starting to feel drawn out.
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