Khamzat Chimaev eyeing middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya (left), Khamzat Chimaev (right) [Images courtesy: @ufc and @khamzat_chimaev via Instagram]

Khamzat Chimaev has teased a potential matchup with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Taking to social media following UFC 276, the undefeated welterweight contender shared a photo of himself along with a picture of 'The Last Stylebender' with the title over his shoulder.

Check out the post below:

https://t.co/96JT26ixUV

'Borz' has called for a fight with Adesanya on several occasions. However, the middleweight king has made it clear in the past that he doesn't see Chimaev as a viable contender given he’s the champion of the division above him.

The latest callout comes shortly after Chimaev expressed interest in fighting Alex Pereira following the Brazilian's vicious knockout win over Sean Strickland at UFC 276.

Israel Adesanya is likely to face Alex Pereira

A fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Israel Adesanya would be a dynamic clash of styles and make for an intriguing matchup. However, 'The Last Stylebender' is keen on settling his rivalry with former Glory Kickboxing foe Alex Pereira.

Fight fans have been eager to watch the duo clash inside the octagon given the history from their kickboxing days.

After his latest unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier, Adesanya took aim at 'Poatan' during his post-fight octagon interview, expressing interest in facing the Brazilian in his next octagon outing.

"Trust me, the first time I told you, it was an error on my part spamming the right hand and that was in kickboxing. It’s easy to knockout, what’s the hillbilly’s name? [Sean Strickland] Because he was parrying the jabs, but like I said at the press conference, the next time I put you on skates, you’re going to get frozen like Elsa."

Watch Israel Adesanya's UFC 276 post-fight octagon interview below:

Following the callout, Adesanya confirmed in a backstage interview with reporter McKenzie Pavacich that a fight against Alex Pereira is indeed what he wants next.

"That's the fight, that's the next fight."

Watch the full interview below:

Adesanya scored a fifth successful defense of the UFC middleweight title with his latest performance at UFC 276. The 32-year-old extended his record to 23-1 with the win.