UFC 281: Chael Sonnen has a conspiracy theory about Khamzat Chimaev being the backup fighter for Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira
Chael Sonnen seemingly believes that Khamzat Chimaev could be the backup/replacement fighter for the upcoming UFC middleweight title fight between reigning champion Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. The Adesanya-Pereira matchup is scheduled to headline UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York on November 12.
In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen harked back to the UFC welterweight title rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington at UFC 268 at MSG in November 2021.
He explained that akin to how Vicente Luque was revealed as the backup fighter for Usman-Covington, the UFC will soon announce Chimaev as the backup fighter for Adesanya-Pereira.
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Sonnen emphasized that Adesanya has already beaten all the current top-five UFC middleweights except Pereira. He added that Chimaev is, therefore, the only backup fighter that makes sense. 'The Bad Guy' stated:
"So now, we would essentially be bringing in a backup fighter that is gonna have an air of redundancy should they get in there with Adesanya, unless the backup fighter is Chimaev. Now, that's the rumor. That's the speculation. That's the conspiracy. But what do you think? And I've got some evidence to lean towards that."
Chael Sonnen recalled how Khamzat Chimaev failed to make the welterweight limit in his last fight. Sonnen further insinuated that his next fight could be at middleweight.
Moreover, he noted that 'Borz' hasn't clarified whether he'll compete at welterweight or middleweight next and hasn't responded to rumors of him fighting UFC welterweight Colby Covington.
Chimaev also hasn't addressed another top-tier welterweight, Belal Muhammad, who's been relentlessly calling him out. Sonnen indicated that it's because the UFC has already roped in Chimaev to be the backup fighter for Adesanya vs. Pereira:
"The reason he's not signing off on the Colby fight or responding to the Belal fight is because he [Chimaev] does have a plan, and he does know what he's going to do next, and therefore doesn't feel he needs to respond."
Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 6:50 in the video below:
Khamzat Chimaev could fight for UFC welterweight gold in 2023
Notwithstanding Chael Sonnen's aforementioned theory, many in the MMA community foresee Khamzat Chimaev fighting for the UFC welterweight title before he gets a shot at the middleweight belt.
The consensus is that UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will likely defend his title in a trilogy clash against Kamaru Usman early next year.
The vast majority of fans and experts have predicted that Khamzat Chimaev could fight the Usman-Edwards winner for welterweight gold later in 2023. Chimaev, for his part, has expressed interest in capturing both the welterweight and middleweight belts. Fans can expect additional details concerning 'Borz's' next fight to unravel soon.