"Robert Whittaker is the guy you keep him away from"- Josh Thomson breaks down Khamzat Chimaev's potential at middleweight; explains why 'The Reaper' is the nightmare matchup for 'Borz'
Following Khamzat Chimaev missing weight at UFC 279, many have speculated that he will move up to middleweight for his next bout. The No.3-ranked welterweight seemingly confirmed the move this past weekend.
Former UFC fighter and current MMA analyst Josh Thomson recently discussed Chimaev's options in the middleweight division.
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Speaking on his Weighing In podcast, Thomson revealed his thoughts on Chimaev's middleweight future. 'The Punk' claimed the fight to make for the unbeaten phenom is Paulo Costa, followed closely by Marvin Vettori. Speaking about a potential Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker matchup, Thomson said:
"I think Whittaker is just all-around, too many weapons. I could be wrong. I think if we see him fight Paulo Costa and has a great performance, we see him fight Marvin Vettori and has a great performance... Probably skip Whittaker and go to whoever's the champ at the time, whether it's Pereira or whether it's Izzy."
Thomson elaborated on a potential matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker, adding:
"Robert Whittaker's probably the guy you try to keep away from him. I think Robert Whittaker, he's someone that's going to really push him."
Watch Josh Thomson's full comments on Khamzat Chimaev's future below (starting at the 1:06:45 mark):
Khamzat Chimaev on potential fight against Israel Adesanya
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to attempt to defend his belt for the sixth time at UFC 281 in November. Khamzat Chimaev, who has made it clear that he is eyeing the middleweight strap, believes that Adesanya will be an easy fight for him.
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Speaking with Henry Cejudo on his YouTube Channel, Chimaev discussed a potential fight against Adesanya. He reiterated that he will make light work of the Kiwi considering the stylistic matchup:
"I'm ready for him. How he fights a guy, for me, makes comfortable when I see the fight. He gets taken down and he gives his back to the guy, who's not a wrestler, not ground guy. All his fights, he's only doing stand up... Robert Whittaker take his back. When I see that, if I take his back, I'll take off his head."
Watch Chimaev's full comments on Israel Adesanya below: