"He's not even in my weight class" - Israel Adesanya says he isn't concerned about Khamzat Chimaev
Israel Adesanya has asserted that he isn’t concerned about Khamzat Chimaev.
Speaking to Charlamagne Tha God and Andrew Schulz on The Brilliant Idiots podcast, Adesanya addressed a potential fight against UFC welterweight and MMA wunderkind Khamzat Chimaev.
‘The Last Stylebender’ noted that Chimaev has fought at both welterweight (170 pounds) and middleweight (185 pounds), but hasn’t proven his mettle at middleweight yet.
Discussing his own weight, Adesanya revealed that he cuts down to 185 pounds, then rehydrates to about 199-200 pounds for fight night. ‘The Last Stylebender' revealed that he currently weighs around 205-207 pounds.
Furthermore, the 32-year-old praised Chimaev for his latest fight – a first-round submission win over Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in October 2021.
However, when it comes to Chimaev possibly challenging 'The Last Stylebender' for the middleweight strap, here's what the champion had to say:
"I’m like, he’s not even in my weight class. So, why I gotta pay this guy any attention until he does something that makes me take notice that I’m like, ‘Okay, now I have to take him seriously.’ At the moment, it’s just barking in the wind. It’s like when the dog barks at the moon, it’s normal.”
Watch Israel Adesanya address the Khamzat Chimaev matchup in the video below:
Daniel Cormier foresees Israel Adesanya beating Khamzat Chimaev in a potential fight
Henry Cejudo and Khamzat Chimaev recently had an intriguing Twitter exchange after the former suggested that Chimaev would easily defeat Israel Adesanya. While 'Borz' agreed with Cejudo’s opinion, MMA legend Daniel Cormier didn’t.
Chimaev told Cejudo that Adesanya doesn't want the smoke 💨
(via @henrycejudo, @kchimaev) https://t.co/difpIB1cqE
On ESPN MMA’s DC & RC Show, Cormier asserted that Chimaev’s aggressive fighting style could backfire in a possible clash at middleweight against Adesanya. DC said:
"I've been hearing Chimaev from a lot of people. Cejudo said it this morning. My problem with Chimaev is: Chimaev's going to rush, and because he'll rush to get Izzy out of there, he's gonna get himself into trouble. I don't know if Chimaev is the guy because he's obviously smaller [than Adesanya]. But his style won't allow for him to sit back with Adesanya."
Check out Daniel Cormier's full take below:
Khamzat Chimaev is rumored to be fighting Gilbert Burns in a welterweight bout at UFC 273 on April 9th. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya has hinted that his next UFC middleweight title defense could be a fight against Jared Cannonier in June.
@GilbertDurinho and @KChimaev eying up a fight in April!
👀 @GilbertDurinho and @KChimaev eying up a fight in April! https://t.co/yPjaqzWKWG