Israel Adesanya reveals ‘crazy’ thing Khamzat Chimaev did that made him want to face undefeated UFC star
‘Stylebender’ is on a two-fight skid after also being outpointed by Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
Now he’s been booked to face rising star Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia on February 1.
Israel Adesanya eyes future fight with Khamzat Chimaev
Israel Adesanya understands that earning another title shot may take more than a win over Imavov.
Khamzat Chimaev waits in the wings after breezing through his fight with Robert Whittaker in October.
The 14-0 contender made it look easy as he crushed Whittaker’s jaw to win by first-round submission.
Chimaev’s performance was so impressive that many fans called for him to get an immediate title shot.
However, the powers that be ultimately decided to book Du Plessis vs Strickland II. The middleweight championship will be on the line when they rematch at UFC 312 Sydney, Australia on February 9
Adesanya wasn’t surprised to see Chimaev get overlooked by the UFC. Still, he was extremely impressed with the Russian’s win over Whittaker. So much so that he is now looking forward to throwing down with him in the future.
“I was surprised the way Khamzat ran through Rob, that was crazy,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“That made me want to fight him. I was like, ‘Okay, s***! This guy is really good’.”
Khamzat Chimaev to face Alex Pereira next?
Earlier this week, UFC fans woke up to a surprising rumor circulating about Alex Pereira’s next title fight.
The light heavyweight king was expected to face Magomed Ankalaev in the new year, but he took to social media to suggest he’s rejecting Magomed Ankalaev as his next opponent, which breathed life into speculation about him fighting Chimaev instead.
Reacting to the story on Instagram, former heavyweight contender Brendan Shaub reshared an Instagram post, with the caption: “No F* way, anyone know if this is for real? Take. My. Money.”
The rumor even reached the ears of Whittaker, who claimed that his last opponent would beat Pereira if that fight actually came to fruition.
“I saw a rumor that Chimaev might go up and fight Pereira – imagine that… Chimaev [wins] easily – maybe not easily – but Chimaev [wins] though… Unless the heavyweight strength changes his dynamic, Chimaev would get the takedown. He’s good at what he does and that plays into his strengths.
“But let’s say hypothetically, Chimaev slows down and gasses a little bit, Pereira won’t, and he can strike in his sleep… He’ll kill Chimaev in the standup, it won’t be like that Usman-Chimaev fight where Usman was out-boxing him, it’d be a slaughter.”
