This was announced in an interview with Submission Radio by the Nigerian’s trainer Eugene Bairman, who opposes an immediate title chance for the Chechen fighter.
“Hamzat has already fought in middleweight?”, – said the specialist. “We can’t make a laughing stock of it – it’s the most prestigious title in the sport. Sometimes there are precedents in business, I understand that, but in doing so, we devalue the organization, devalue the sport, and devalue everything that we did and stood for. ”
“At least he has to fight three guys, even if they are unknown to anyone, as was the case with Pereira. I am not against the fight with Khamzat. I think it will be a great fight. He has a big name, this is a challenge for us, and we are always looking for challenges. He brings the highest level of wrestling to our sport.”
“Like I said, it’s a challenge and I love challenges. But I stand for the prestige of the UFC, for the brand, and for the sport. Hamzat would be a great fight and as Israel says to all potential opponents, ‘I hope you come out and do your job.’ Therefore, let Khamzat do his job so that we can all appreciate it.”
Khamzat Chimaev will reportedly fight his next fight on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi against former UFC middleweight title contender Paulo Costa, while Israel Adesanya regained his championship belt over the weekend by knocking out Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in Miami. .