Khamzat Chimaev wants nothing more than to become UFC middleweight champion again, but he understands it’s unlikely he’ll get that next shot at the belt.
So while he’s waiting, Chimaev is preparing to stay busy working with RAF, which includes his showdown against old foe Gilbert Burns on Saturday in Miami, and healing up some nagging injuries. While Chimaev’s health has been a huge cause for concern in the past, the Chechen mauler promises that if he needs time off now to deal with those injuries, he won’t be gone very long.
“I want to fight,” Chimaev told MMA Fighting on Thursday. “That’s why I want to fight. It’s not crazy big injuries where you need to be off from sparring. It’s just my hands. I punch hard so I always have problems with my hands and I have to fix it.
“It’s not going to take a long time but people think Khamzat is not going to fight. If I do break off, it’s going to be one or two months. Still going to be doing recovery, training.”
Chimaev has been very vocal, especially on social media, about booking another fight sooner than later. The UFC has made no announcements but the current rumor is that middleweight champion Sean Strickland is expected to defend his title against Nassourdine Imavov before 2026 concludes.
With the champion tied up, Chimaev turned his attention towards Caio Borralho, who he says accepted his challenge when he was looking for a fight.
“Only Caio [Borralho] wanted to fight, but he had an injury when I asked about October,” Chimaev said. “He said November or December, he will be ready.”
As far as the title goes, Chimaev obviously wants the belt back after losing a very close decision to Strickland back in May. Chimaev isn’t all that concerned about revenge on Strickland as getting the UFC title back again — and he expects to face a new champion when that comes time.
“I would be happy who is the winner if they come back faster Nassourdine or Sean, who is the winner, I want to fight this guy,” Chimaev said. “It’s a tough fight. But I go for Nassourdine.”
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