Khamzat Chimaev is still hoping his next fight will be booked in March, but apparently he can’t seem to find an opponent.
The undefeated Chechen, who is coming off a first-round submission win over Kevin Holland, recently took a trip to Dubai to start his training camp for a fight that still hasn’t been booked yet. While he’s open to competing at either middleweight or welterweight, Chimaev says numerous opponents have turned him down already, which has only made him angrier as he continues to wait for a new bout agreement to be sent his way.
” Nobody wants to fight,” Chimaev stated in a videoblog he published. “F*** these boys. I was given four countries and four opponents. Nobody wants to fight.”
Chimaev has quickly become one of the most discussed fighters on the UFC roster, amassing a perfect 6-0 UFC record including wins over Gilbert Burns and Li Jingliang.
UFC President Dana White stated that he likes the idea of Chimaev taking on Colby Covington for his welterweight title, however, it does not appear that this matchup will be completed.
“I’m going to fight somebody,” Chimaev said. “I don’t know who. They change opponents all the time. Each week, I meet a different opponent. But nobody really wants to fight.
” The guys talk trash about me, and they say, ‘I want you to fight, I want you to fight!’ But when it comes down to signing the contract and fighting, the men want to get away .”
The fight against Covington would take place at the welterweight weight, however Chimaev isn’t opposed at all to matches at 185 pound.
In fact, Chimaev already called for a future showdown with reigning middleweight king and MMA Fighting’s 2022 Fighter of the Year Alex Pereira, who claimed the title with a stunning fifth-round knockout over Israel Adesanya in November.
Chimaev may think much about Pereira or his resume, but it remains to be seen if the UFC would actually consider him for a title shot without first going through a top-10 ranked middleweight.
“I’m next for the title,” Chimaev said. Who are these men going to fight?” Alex Pereira has a 6-1 record. He lost. I’ve never lost in my life. He was defeated by a man of s***, and he’s not even in the UFC.
“UFC doesn’t want them, and the guys don’t either. What are you going to do? It’s all I want is to fight. Please give me someone. If the guys run away from me, just give me somebody. I’m ready.”
With cards filling quickly for the first quarter 2023, Chimaev hopes someone steps up and takes on the challenge.
“I’m always ready,” Chimaev said. We’ll see what happens now. We’ll be hoping so in Vegas this March. But we won’t know until then [I’m fighting].”
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Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/26/23526764/khamzat-chimaev-growing-frustrated-with-lack-of-opponents-nobody-wants-to-fight-f-these-boys?rand=96749
