"170 will seem like a distant memory" - Michael Bisping names the fighter Khamzat Chimaev must beat to earn a middleweight title fight
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes Khamzat Chimaev will guarantee himself a middleweight title shot if he can defeat fan-favorite Paulo Costa.
Chimaev was at the heart of the controversy during the chaotic UFC 279 pay-per-view earlier this month. The 28-year-old was set to headline his first card against Nate Diaz but he missed weight by a shocking 7.5lbs. 'Borz' was subsequently dropped from the headline slot and rescheduled to face Kevin Holland, whom he had a backstage altercation with earlier that week.
The Chechen-born fighter believes he can succeed and become a champion in three different weight classes - welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping stated that a victory against 'Borrachinha' will likely be enough for Chimaev to get a 185lbs title shot:
"If he [Khamzat Chimaev] goes and fights Paulo Costa, and if he beats him, he's probably going to get a title fight at 185lbs and 170 will seem like a distant memory... Costa's talking a lot of sh*t and he's trying to get Chimaev to take the bait. He's doing the right thing. That would be a massive fight."
Good nightz u littles u scared baggings 🙏 https://t.co/TRQr7NBiTv
Catch Michael Bisping's full comments here:
Daniel Cormier discussed Khamzat Chimaev vs. Israel Adesanya
Michael Bisping wasn't the only Hall of Famer playing matchmaker this week as Daniel Cormier offered his take on Khamzat Chimaev's potential middleweight run.
'DC', a former champ-champ, believes Chimaev likely won't return to welterweight after his staggering weight miss against Nate Diaz at UFC 279. Cormier instead stated that the middleweight division will be the biggest test of 'Borz's' ability in the octagon. Cormier is already hoping to see the Chechen-born fighter face middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
In a recent episode of the DC & RC Show, the 43-year-old said that the only other fighter to rival Chimaev's impact in the organization was the middleweight champion Adesanya:
"When I'm talking about the fights that I wanna see, my first fight is, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Israel Adesanya. Because now, especially that we feel like Khamzat's gonna be fighting up at middleweight, with the weight issue. That's gonna be a fun fight because is this dude really real? It seems as though that's the case. The last guy that has made the impact that Khamzat has made that quick, is Israel Adesanya."
Catch the full episode of the show here: