Khamzat Chimaev believes he wins potential "dream match" against Jon Jones even though 'Bones' is "still the best fighter in the world"
While Khamzat Chimaev has made the move to middleweight, there are still two weight classes between him and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Despite this, 'Borz' recently revealed that 'Bones' would be his dream mixed martial arts opponent.
During a recent appearance on the Smile 2 Jannah podcast, the No.9-ranked middleweight stated:
"Jon Jones, still he's the best fighter in the world right now. He has most title defenses, he is a two-weight class champion, he never lost still. He’s been youngest champion in UFC. If you speak about MMA, everyone knows Jon Jones. In history, nobody like him so for sure he’s dream match for everyone who wants to be in the history."
When asked who he believes would win if both were in their primes, Chimaev said:
“Depends which weight class. He’s now a heavyweight. You’re asking me? For sure I think I will win. That’s a hard fight for everyone. He fought two times with my training partner Alexander Gustafsson – they had good fight."
Check out Khamzat Chimaev's comments on Jon Jones below (13:45):
Khamzat Chimaev claims that he is "scaring" Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis
Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis are set to clash for the middleweight title at UFC 297 this weekend. While Khamzat Chimaev claims that he has been promised a title opportunity following his UFC 294 majority decision victory over Kamaru Usman, both Strickland and du Plessis have revealed that they do not believe he is worthy of the opportunity.
'Borz' took to X to claim that both the middleweight champion and upcoming title challenger are scared to face him, stating:
"they have a fight soon, but they both think about me, I didn’t know that I was scaring them so much 🤦🏻♂️ 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣"
While UFC CEO Dana White labeled UFC 294's Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman bout as a title eliminator at the time, Chimaev was far from impressive. Despite Usman moving up a weight class on just ten days' notice, it was a very close fight, and many believe that, if it were a five-rounder, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' would've emerged victorious.
Additionally, 'Borz' sustained a hand injury in the fight, which likely prevented a quick turnaround.