"I'm more Nigerian than him. I'm from Nicaragua" - Fans predict how a fight and its press conference will go down between Khamzat Chimaev and Israel Adesanya
MMA fans have played matchmakers yet again and have discussed how they believe a fight between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and welterweight Khamzat Chimaev will play out.
Chimaev was at the heart of controversy this past week following the chaotic events leading up to UFC 279. 'Borz' was originally set to face Nate Diaz but due to missing weight by a staggering 7.5 lbs, the bout was changed and he instead fought Kevin Holland in a catchweight fight.
After his dominant performance against the 'Trailblazer', many fans believe the Chechen-born Swede will now compete at middleweight to avoid weight-cutting issues in the future.
Fans have been predicting the dream match-up between the pair, with one fan already preparing a quote they think could be said at the press conference of the imaginary bout.
"Dis guy isn't real Nigerian, I'm more Nigerian than him. I'm from Nicaragua."
Another fan suggested that if 'Borz' sprints for the takedown against Adesanya like he did Holland, he'd likely get clipped by the middleweight champion.
"I think any one running up on Izzy is going to get tagged up"
Check out more of the fan reactions and predictions below:
Michael Bisping believes Khamzat Chimaev is becoming the biggest villain in the UFC
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping has stated that he loves the controversial nature of Khamzat Chimaev and hopes it continues.
Chimaev's 7.5-pound weight miss was only one of a long list of controversial moments the 28-year-old was involved in last weekend. Prior to the UFC 279 press conference, 'Borz' and Holland reportedly got into a physical altercation backstage that forced the entire press conference to be canceled.
Following the cancelation and the drama on the scale, Chimaev appeared to show very little in terms of remorse for his actions and threw up his middle fingers to the booing crowd during the ceremonial weigh-ins.
https://t.co/lSHuIsXLIi
Continuing his heel turn after his dominant performance over Kevin Holland, the 28-year-old shouted to the crowd that he didn't care that he missed weight and was looking to "kill everyone."
Discussing UFC 279 on his YouTube channel, Bisping shared his love for the new "supervillain":
"The UFC officially has a new supervillain. I am of course talking about Khamzat Chimaev. Come on, when he walked out to that fight, the boo's from the crowd were like nothing I've ever heard. That took the biscuit, it was mental...He didn't give a sh*t. Afterwards he was flipping off the crowd, then he's talking sh*t, talking about killing people, I absolutely love it... He's a legit bad guy and straight out of a Bond movie."
Catch the full video here: