"I wouldn't wait for Kamaru or Leon"- Henry Cejudo suggests an exciting move for Khamzat Chimaev after the Nate Diaz fight
Henry Cejudo has suggested an exciting move for Khamzat Chimaev after fighting Nate Diaz. Chimaev will face Diaz in a welterweight (170-pound) matchup at UFC 279 on September 10th. The former two-division UFC champion feels that Chimaev ought to move up in weight to pursue the UFC middleweight (185-pound) title after beating Diaz.
Khamzat Chimaev
Nate Diaz
🐺 Khamzat Chimaev
💯 Nate Diaz
The official #UFC279 poster has dropped 🎨 https://t.co/ECUOoyiDTe
In a YouTube Shorts video posted to his official YouTube channel, Cejudo alluded to the fact that a win over UFC megastar Nate Diaz could earn Khamzat Chimaev a UFC welterweight title shot. Intriguingly, the consensus is that reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is likely to defend his title in a trilogy matchup against former champion Kamaru Usman next in early 2023.
Cejudo indicated that Chimaev may have to wait on the sidelines for several months to fight the aforementioned matchup’s winner for the title later in 2023. Advising ‘Borz’ to beat Diaz and then go after the UFC middleweight title instead of waiting to fight the Edwards-Usman winner, Cejudo stated:
“I don’t know, man. If I was Khamzat Chimaev, I would go up. I really would because these guys [Edwards and Usman] are not going to fight until February. I think Khamzat beats him [Diaz]. I think he [Chimaev] challenges Israel, the winner of Israel and [Alex] Pereira."
"And I think if he decides he wants to come back down, he should come back down. But I wouldn’t wait for Kamaru or Leon because he’s looking at potentially a year before he fights somebody like that. And I know Khamzat wants to be active, and he’s struggling to make 170. So, that’s what I would do.”
Watch Cejudo's assessment below:
Henry Cejudo believes Khamzat Chimaev could defeat UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is scheduled to defend his title against longtime rival and fellow striking savant Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on November 12th. Many believe Pereira, who’s beaten ‘Izzy’ twice in the sport of kickboxing, is the biggest threat to him in the UFC middleweight division.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira at #UFC281 in MSG 🗽 https://t.co/9bOC6AxT2A
Regardless, on The Triple C & Schmo Show earlier this year, Henry Cejudo insinuated that a grappling wizard like Khamzat Chimaev poses a bigger threat to Israel Adesanya. Opining that ‘Izzy’ doesn’t possess the grappling prowess to beat Chimaev, Cejudo explained:
“I still think a guy like [Khamzat] Chimaev comes up, and the dude [Israel Adesanya] is in trouble. Even though Chimaev had.” Cejudo cut himself off mid-sentence and continued, “I think Chimaev is really struggling to make 170, and we know that. So, I think he’s going to find his home at 185, and I think he’s going to wreck some people.”
Watch Cejudo’s assessment at 14:11 in the video below: