Khamzat Chimaev enters UFC Welterweight rankings after removal of Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos
As reported by Ashah Tafari, Khamzat Chimaev has now officially entered the top-15 rankings in the UFC welterweight division.
Swedish MMA journalist Tafari noted that Chimaev will be featured in the UFC’s updated Welterweight rankings that are set to be released soon.
Khamzat Chimaev rose to MMA superstardom in 2020
Khamzat Chimaev made his UFC debut in July of this year and has won three consecutive fights in impressive fashion, all via stoppage.
Chimaev has competed at both Welterweight and Middleweight divisions in UFC, with his most recent fight being a 17-second KO victory over veteran fighter Gerald Meerschaert in a Middleweight bout this September.
Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos have been removed from the UFC Welterweight rankings
Swedish MMA journalist Ashah Tafari put forth a tweet featuring an image of the UFC’s updated rankings.
A notable development in the updated rankings is that two fighters who were previously ranked among the top 15 in the UFC Welterweight division are conspicuously absent from the list. The two fighters in question are MMA icon Nate Diaz and former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, who’ve now seemingly been removed from the list.
Nate Diaz has competed in both the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions over the course of his long and storied career. However, he has primarily fought at Welterweight over the past few years.
Diaz’s last MMA bout was a third-round TKO loss to Jorge Masvidal in their fight for the BMF title that took place in November of last year.
On the other hand, Rafael dos Anjos who’d amassed a record of 4-4 in his recent run in the Welterweight division, has now returned to Lightweight.
Rafael dos Anjos secured a split decision victory over Paul Felder this past weekend, in what was the former’s comeback fight at Lightweight.
With Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos both removed from the UFC’s top 15 Welterweight rankings, Khamzat Chimaev is now at No.15. The Swedish fighter is set to compete in the biggest fight of his MMA career, as he faces Leon Edwards in a high-stakes Welterweight bout at the UFC Fight Night 186 event on December 19th, 2020.
The consensus is that the Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev matchup has title implications. Its winner could receive the next shot at the UFC Welterweight title that’s currently held by Kamaru Usman.