Daniel Cormier names 3 potential opponents for Khamzat Chimaev's UFC return
Daniel Cormier has revealed who he wants to see Khamzat Chimaev fight next.
Chimaev has taken the MMA world by storm since making his UFC debut in 2020. The 28-year-old holds a promotional record of 6-0 with five wins inside the distance. The question is, what’s next for ‘Borz’? During an episode of DC & RC, Cormier had this to say about who he wants to see him fight next:
“My last fight [I want to see in 2023], I gotta see [Khamzat] Chimaev against one of the top three. I need to see him versus either [Leon] Edwards, [Kamaru] Usman, or [Colby] Covington… These three guys have separated themselves from the division in the regard that they’ve hung around the top for the longest… I wanna see Chimaev in there against one of those guys.”
There has been interest from fans and analysts to see Chimaev fight Colby Covington next, but ‘Chaos’ has disappeared since his altercation with Jorge Masvidal. Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman is expected to get an immediate rematch against Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight title.
Assuming he can make the welterweight limit, ‘Borz’ against Covington in a number one contender fight would make the most sense.
Watch Daniel Cormier discuss Khamzat Chimaev below:
Daniel Cormier’s co-host, Ryan Clark, predicts Khamzat Chimaev to be the 2023 Male Fighter of the Year
During the same episode of DC & RC, Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark made their predictions for 2023. When asked to give his pick for Male Fighter of the Year, Clark found inspiration from Cormier suggesting Khamzat Chimaev could fight one of the top three welterweight fighters. The former NFL player had this to say:
“I’m going Khamzat Chimaev based off of what you said is the fight you need to see. Saying that you need to see Khamzat Chimaev versus some of these big-time fighters at 170, I believe we see that. I think he wins, I think he dominates. What makes him my pick for male fighter of the year is I believe we see him in at least one exciting bout against a top contender at 185…”
It seemed inevitable that Chimaev would become the UFC welterweight champion before he drastically missed weight at UFC 279. ‘Borz’ has already won two fights at middleweight, so he’s expected to continue competing in both classes.
As Clark said, if the 28-year-old secures the top five wins in two divisions, it’ll be hard to overlook him for the 2023 Fighter of the Year award.