Both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are "favorable matchups" for Khamzat Chimaev, claims Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith is of the opinion that Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira would be favorable matchups for Khamzat Chimaev, owing to the Chechen-born Swede's superior grappling skills.

Speaking to Michael Bisping on the Believe You Me podcast, Anthony Smith was asked for his thoughts on Chimaev's intention to face 'Poatan' in January and then Colby Covington in March. Smith stated:

"I totally get why he wants this Pereira fight. He probably watched that licking his chops. Like these are two guys that I can smash. With his style and the way that he approaches the game, these are two fairly favorable matchups...I think that Pereira and Adesanya are much easier fights for Khamzat than Colby Covington."

Catch Anthony Smith and Michael Bisping's full Believe You Me podcast episode below:

The 28-year-old has taken to social media to call out Pereira, appearing to be unimpressed by the skills put on display by the Brazilian against his former kickboxing rival at UFC 281.

Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight Alex Pereira on the upcoming #UFC282 card 👀

🔗sportskeeda.com/mma/news-now-t…

#UFC #MMA | @ufc https://t.co/ZLzRKMMjhH

'Borz' has since also called out Gilbert Burns, whom he beat via unanimous decision at UFC 273 in a three-round war. A rematch between the two is certainly appealing, considering how entertaining their previous meeting was. With the promotion yet to officially confirm Chimaev vs. Covington, it remains to be seen who will face Chimaev next.

Gilbert Burns gives two-word response to Khamzat Chimaev's rematch call-out 👀

🔗sportskeeda.com/mma/news-gilbe…

#UFC #MMA | @ufc @GilbertDurinho @KChimaev https://t.co/U7tuwBbCwH

Daniel Cormier believes Khamzat Chimaev would be a "massive favorite" to beat Alex Pereira

Daniel Cormier has stated that he considers Khamzat Chimaev a better option to bet on compared to Alex Pereira in case they face each other in the future.

On an episode of DC and RC, Cormier spoke to Ryan Clark about the potential matchup between the new middleweight champion and Chimaev:

"If you schedule him [Alex Pereira] and Khamzat right now, Khamzat will be a massive favorite to beat Alex Pereira. Just because of the style. The style just does not match up yet. For Pereira, he's so young in his career that this was honestly the ideal champion [Adesanya] for him."

Watch the full DC & RC episode below:

'Borz' currently occupies the No.3 spot in the welterweight division. Khamzat Chimaev last beat Kevin Holland at UFC 279 via first-round submission after missing weight by a large margin for his matchup against Nate Diaz. The promotion was forced to change the lineup, leading many to speculate if middleweight would be the more logical division for Chimaev to compete in.