Khamzat Chimaev, a prominent UFC welterweight contender, has voiced his opinions on the title picture.
With Colby Covington seemingly positioned to challenge Leon Edwards for the welterweight belt, Chimaev believes that Covington’s American nationality may have played a role in ‘Chaos’ receiving the title shot over him.
In the video, Chimaev criticized Covington’s previous performances including his fight against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Despite these setbacks, the Chechen-born-Swede suggested that the promotion may have given Covington the opportunity to compete for the welterweight throne due to his American nationality, implying that they have the desire to see an American champion.
Chimaev said:
“[Kamaru] Usman broke his chin two times. He[Usman] knocked down him, that guy [Colby Covington]. He’s sh*t and they [UFC] gave that chance [welterweight title contention] for him because maybe he’s from USA. It’s more… they want the belt for him. I’m from Sweden, I live in Dubai, so… Maybe they don’t want to give that belt to me.”
Check out Khamzat Chimaev’s comments below:
Dana White reveals Khamzat Chimaev’s potential return to the octagon
Khamzat Chimaev has been calling out former UFC champion Kamaru Usman for a fight. Usman, who recently expressed his interest in facing Chimaev, suggested that the bout should take place at a catchweight.
However, White seems reluctant to entertain the idea of a catchweight fight. He revealed that Usman personally visited the UFC office to advocate for the matchup, but White emphasized that catchweight fights are not something he typically agrees to.
“I think that it’s a fight that Usman wants. That’s no secret. Usman literally came to the office to lobby for that fight… I don’t do catchweights. Don’t do it. You know how Khamzat is? If you talk sh** to Khamzat, Khamzat’s gonna go right at it with you and doesn’t care who he fights and all that stuff. So, I don’t know. Obviously, we’ve been making a lot of announcements lately. We haven’t made that announcement yet because we don’t have a fight done yet. But we’re working on stuff for Khamzat.”
While an official fight announcement has yet to be made, White hinted at ongoing discussions regarding potential matchups for ‘Borz’. He acknowledged the recent flurry of announcements from the promotion but clarified that they have not finalized a fight for Chimaev yet. Nonetheless, the UFC is actively working on securing an opponent for the highly anticipated return of Chimaev.
Check out Dana White’s comments below [14:54 mark]: