Dana White teases title fight plans for Khamzat Chimaev: "Want him to fight in the United States"
Dana White seems to foresee a championship bid for Khamzat Chimaev occuring next year. A UFC title fight has almost seemed like an inevitability for Chimaev since beginning his journey in the promotion and according to the prolific UFC figurehead, it seems like a potentially targeted idea for 2025.
Speaking on The Jim Rome Show, White covered several subjects with the titular figure, and the topic of 'Borz' came up during their chat. When asked by Rome how impressed the UFC figurehead was with Chimaev's devastating win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 and what's next for him, White said:
"He looked incredible. His manager was telling me before the fight that mentally, physically, and emotionally he's the best he's ever been. He said I'm telling you, wait until you see him on Saturday and he was right. He was dead on. This guy's never looked better especially against the competition that he had."
"I'm looking forward to him getting a title fight in '25... We'll see how this plays out here but I want him to fight in the United States. I want him to fight for a title here in the US."
Check out Dana White's comments on a potential Chimaev U.S. title bout in 2025 below (1:24:00):
Dana White and what could await Jon Jones on the heels of UFC 309
Dana White seems as fired up as anyone about this Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight that has been over a year in the making by the time these two enter the cage on Saturday night. That being said, there has been some dialogue about what could await Jones after this weekend's pugilistic proceedings.
Whether that is hanging up the gloves entirely or pursuing a fight vs. light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira which 'Bones' seems especially keen on as a next option following the Miocic matchup. The topic of what could be next for the UFC heavyweight champion in the wake of UFC 309 came up during the above interview with Jim Rome and White was unequivocal in his response.
The 55-year-old promoter verbatim said Jones would not be fighting Pereira and mentioned the title accolades 'Poatan' also had at middleweight as well as him being a kickboxer who has done exceptionally well in MMA. In saying that though, White felt that Jones would be too big overall and too experienced in the wrestling department for Pereira.
The Connecticut native stated that if Jones does want to fight again after this Miocic contest, he would have to fight the interim champion and the backup for the UFC 309 main event, Tom Aspinall, in a title unification bout.