Khamzat Chimaev picks winners of main and co-main event of UFC 281
UFC welterweight star Khamzat Chimaev has revealed his picks for UFC 281's main-event, co-main event and the Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler fight.
UFC 281 features two title fights. Israel Adesanya will defend the middleweight title against Alex Pereira, and Carla Esparza will hope to make her first successful title defense when she faces Zhang Weili.
Also on the card, lightweight stars Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier are set to go head-to-head in what is already being dubbed a Fight of the Night contender. The bout pits the No.2 and No.5-ranked 155-pounders against one another, with the winner hoping it will be enough for another shot at the title.
Khamzat Chimaev cast his predictions for the three fights on Twitter. 'Borz' wrote out the winners' names with a gold medal next to each name:
"@Dustin Poirier. @Stylebender. @MmaWeili."
@DustinPoirier 🥇
@stylebender 🥇
@MmaWeili 🥇
#UFC281
Chimaev is expected to return to the octagon next year after Dana White revealed that the UFC are planning on booking him against Colby Covington. 'Chaos' has been away from the octagon following an attack by Jorge Masvidal back in March.
According to White, Chimaev vs. Covington will be the co-main event when Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman's trilogy bout headlines a UK pay-per-view card next year. The winner of 'Borz' vs. 'Chaos' is expected to be the next challenger for the welterweight title.
Robert Whittaker responds to Chael Sonnen who questioned his take on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington
Robert Whittaker recently had to explain his comments after Chael Sonnen found an issue with his take on the rumored bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington.
In an interview with Submission Radio last month, Whittaker described Khamzat Chimaev as a terrible matchup for 'Chaos', stating that the American isn't an elite striker and won't be able to hold down the Chechen-born fighter.
'The American Gangster' didn't agree with 'The Reaper's' assessment of Covington's abilities and asked him to take a look back at the Californian's two fights against Kamaru Usman. Whittaker heard what Sonnen had to say and responded in an interview with Main Event:
"I said terrible [matchup for Colvy Covington]. After thinking about it, that's a harsh word to use. I think a hard matchup is better to use. I still don't think Colby is an outstanding striker. I think he's a good striker. It's his cardio and his threat of wrestling that gives his striking the ability to even show itself."
The former middleweight champion added:
"Also, I don't think Usman is that good of a striker. I think he's a good striker. So, I'm not getting massive reads from Colby's striking levels based on his fight with Usman."
Catch Whittaker's response to Sonnen here: