Khamzat Chimaev expects UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira to make a quick turnaround and fight him on the upcoming UFC 282 card.
‘Poatan’ recently captured the 185-pound strap from long-reigning champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.
Chimaev called out Pereira immediately after the Brazilian laid hands on middleweight gold, claiming that he would make quick work of the newly crowned champion.
Khamzat Chimaev now claims that he has agreed to fight Pereria at UFC 282, which will go down on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada, Las Vegas, United States. According to ‘Borz’, he is waiting for ‘Poatan’s reply:
“@AlexPereiraUFC 10 December let’s go, I already agreed. Now it’s your turn.”
Khamzat Chimaev’s last appearance inside the octagon was a reminder of his phenomenal wrestling pedrigree and finishing ability. Originally scheduled to fight MMA star Nate Diaz, ‘Borz’ was forced out of the main event due to a botched weight cut.
The Chechen-born Swede fought Kevin Holland instead in a catchweight bout (180 lbs.) and extended his unblemished record to 12-0.
A fight against Alex Pereira is unlikely, considering the new middleweight titleholder fought just over a week ago and tends to cut quite a bit of weight to make the 185-pound limit. Moreover, the former two-division champion has already claimed that Israel Adesanya will get an immediate rematch in a recent post on Instagram.
Khamzat Chimaev asserts that Alex Pereira will have a tough time coping with his top control
During a recent interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Khamzat Chimaev outlined his plans for 2023. According to ‘Borz’, he wants to compete twice in the first quarter of the year, targeting fights against 185-pound champion Alex Pereira and former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.
At UFC 281, ‘Poatan’ defeated his kickboxing rival Israel Adesanya yet again, this time on the grand stage of the world MMA leader. However, Pereira, who was recently promoted to a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, was dominated for the better part of the third round by Adesanya on the ground.
The way Chimaev perceives it, while Pereira has excellent striking, the Brazilian stands no chance if the fight between the two combatants hits the mat:
“If Israel takes him down and takes wrist control and punches, this guy couldn’t get up from there? I don’t know how he would come up from me. Israel’s ground game is a white belt, the other guy gets his brown belt, and he was under Israel. I don’t understand. The guy has power, he’s one of the best guys in striking. But on the ground, he was s**t.”
Watch the full interview below:
