Fans demand Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington matchup following recent fight announcements
Khamzat Chimaev is a fighter that likes to keep busy, and right now he has no opponent to face. That's led fans to sound off on Twitter demanding he face Colby Covington next.
It was looking like Chimaev was going to fight fellow top five welterweight Belal Muhammad next at UFC 281 in Abu Dhabi. The UFC decided to book Muhammad against up-and-coming fighter Sean Brady instead, leaving Chimaev without a fight on the horizon.
Now fans on Twitter suspect a fight between Chimaev and Covington could be in the works. Others made it clear the welterweight contender showdown was the only match worth making.
With Muhammad-Brady being booked that leaves only one top 5 match up left… Colby vs Khamzat.
Book it. Colby Covington vs Khamzat Chimaev ⚔️ https://t.co/ZCxU2BmJUi
Run it! ASAP
Comain to 279…5 rounds
Watch Khamzat get melted https://t.co/Nm61i1pR0X
Here's some ideal WW matchmaking:
Khamzat vs Colby ( has to be 5 rds)
Loser faces winner of Belal/Brady
Burns vs Jorge
Shavkat vs loser of Belal/Brady
Wonderboy vs Pereira
Magny vs D-Rod
Chiesa vs Randy Brown
Holland vs Ponzi
Matthews vs loser of Salilhov/Leech
Belal Muhammad will take on Sean Brady at #UFC281 on October 22nd.
Exceptional matchmaking.
No disrespect to either, but they’re boring as fuck. Matching them up together means entertaining fights can be made (KHAMZAT VS COLBY) twitter.com/the_mma_media/…
@The_MMA_Media JUST MAKE COLBY VS KHAMZAT ALREADY
Fuck yes, Khamzat v Colby next. twitter.com/The_MMA_Media/…
UFC president Dana White had initially suggested the matchup would be next if Chimaev beat Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. But Covington never publicly responded to the plan. In fact, 'Chaos' hasn't been seen or heard from much at all since Jorge Masvidal assaulted him outside a Miami Beach steakhouse in March.
While Dana White has said the felony battery court case against Masvidal for attacking Covington won't stop either fighter from competing, there's a chance Covington won't return until after it is resolved. Court documents show 'Chaos' claiming he suffered a brain injury in the attack. If that's true, he may not be in any condition to fight.
Khamzat Chimaev is calling out everyone in hopes of landing a fight
Khamzat Chimaev started out his UFC career by fighting three times in just over two months. A bad bout of COVID-19 kept 'Borz' on the sidelines for a year, but now that he's back, he's clearly been itching to fight more often.
After winning fights in October 2021 and April 2022, the Chechen fighter is calling out everyone and anyone for a scrap. Just in the past few days Chimaev called out Alex Pereira, writing:
"I’m want to fight with this guy @ufc @danawhite let’s make it"
🏼
twitter.com/ufc/status/154…
I’m want to fight with this guy @ufc @danawhite let’s make it 👊🏼💥 twitter.com/ufc/status/154…
Why fight the number one contender at middleweight when you can fight the middleweight champion instead? Here's Chimaev calling out Israel Adesanya as well:
https://t.co/96JT26ixUV
It's unlikely Chimaev will end up fighting anyone outside of his current 170 pound weightclass. However, the fact that he's given up on calling out other welterweights gives fans an idea of how difficult it's been for him to find an opponent.