“The UFC told us we were fighting in Abu Dhabi – so we are waiting,” Borz said in a video posted on his YouTube channel. “We are already in Dubai, I live here, I train here, everything is going well. I’ve been in shape for a long time – I had a training camp in Thailand, I had a training camp in Sweden, and now I’m doing it here. I’m just waiting for an opponent, a contract, and we’ll see what happens next.”
According to Chimaev, Usman is currently negotiating with the UFC and discussing the financial side of the issue.
“Usman wants to fight, I will be his last fight, so he wants money. Everything comes down to money. I’m going to fight this guy in Abu Dhabi, smash his face in and finish him off. After that, they will give me a title shot. No more money fights, just me. Fights with Leon Edwards did not bring him much money. When someone fights me, they know it’s a money fight. I want to tell Usman – I’m ready, just sign the contract. Let’s fight and make some money. It doesn’t matter what weight – 84, 82, 77 kilograms. Let’s do it!”
Chimaev also criticized the welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington, which has not yet been officially announced.
“Now Leon has the title and it looks like they’re going to give Colby a shot. I don’t remember when Colby won the last fight. Whom did he even defeat from serious rivals – no one! He is nobody himself, it is not clear who wins, Usman broke his jaw twice, knocked him down, but they still want to give him a chance. Probably because he is from the USA and they want to see him have this belt. I’m from Sweden, I live in Dubai – that’s probably why they don’t want to give this title to me. It’s the only thing I see. Or maybe they have another plan for me, I don’t know. I trust these guys, so we’ll see.”
Separately, Borz spoke about the upcoming fight between Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, which will take place on July 29 at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City.
“Paulo said a lot about me, but he ended up fighting another guy that I fought three or four years ago, before the UFC, and I beat him. I think this guy will beat him because Paulo is not good enough. He talks a lot and hasn’t hit anyone. The close fight against Romero is the only fight he has ever won. And the others whom he defeated, no one knows. Everyone talks about me, they promise to fight, but in the end it doesn’t happen.”
If a fight with Kamaru Usman fails, Chimaev is ready to fight for the UFC title in both the middleweight and welterweight divisions.
“I want to fight for the title, no matter what weight class. I can do 77 kilos, but I don’t want to do this weight for who knows. I’m number three in the division, although the numbers don’t really mean anything to me. I consider myself the king of the welterweight division, and I can beat the king of the middleweight division – just give me a title shot. I’m ready to fight Leon, I’m ready to fight Usman, I’m ready to fight Israel, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m ready to fight anyone. I consider myself the best, and when you are the best, you have to fight the best.”
Chimaev is convinced that he is the most moneyed, and at the same time, the most inconvenient opponent for Israel Adesanya, who holds the UFC middleweight title.
“Israel has no one to fight, there is only me. It’s a money fight and ask the fans they want me against Israel. I am a bad fight for him, everyone knows that, and he will lose his title. That’s why they keep it. They created him, and they don’t want to lose him, because I will finish him without a single blow, and this story will end. He may be making money for them, but I do that too. Who should he fight? Nobody here. He beat all the drummers, and I’m a fighter, I’m a killer. I’m the biggest name among fighters without a belt. Fighting me means more fans, more money. When I fight, everyone is waiting for my fights. Even the football legend, Cristiano Ronaldo, asks when I will fight when I finish somebody.