What’s next for Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 308 submission of Rob Whittaker?
Although Khamzat Chimaev remains undefeated, has now won eight straight in the UFC, and got his biggest win ever against another legend in former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, it appears that the Chechnya-born Swede ‘Borz’ must wait for his first title shot, a process which has taken longer than most anticipated.
Back in 2020, when he entered the UFC and set a record for least number of days between winning two UFC fights, and then three also, it appeared to all that Chimaev would find himself in a title fight soon. Winning his first two ranked welterweight fights in thrilling fashion only confirmed that opinion to the masses.
However, it has now been two years in a row which Chimaev has only had two fights in; after his initial surge of three unranked wins in 2020 and three high-profile wins in 2021-22, Khamzat’s overtraining and excessive weight-cutting caught up with him, including perhaps the time he trained through having COVID-19 until he coughed up blood. That severe case of the disease which paused the world for two years could still be with him as “long COVID.”
‘Borz’ was forced to move up to middleweight after he missed the 171-lb welterweight limit by a mile when scheduled against Nate Diaz. Then a series of illnesses and injuries took a further toll, perhaps even hindering his performance against Kamaru Usman last year.
That was not the case at UFC 308, however, as his grappling eviscerated #3 contender Robert Whittaker in one round. Still, no title shot will come yet, as confirmed by Dana White.
Sean Strickland has been calling for a rematch against the champion ever since Dricus du Plessis took the belt from him via split decision last year. A close fight is not a robbery or a direct reason for another title shot, but Strickland and his fans were loud enough to demand Dana White give it to him next.
Although Strickland does have an argument for the shot on merit, it seems dismissive to automatically anoint him as the next contender when his only win since losing the belt was an uneventful split decision victory over now-10th overall MW contender Paulo Costa. Chimaev’s recent resume is undoubtedly more impressive, as he just bested a man who beat Costa more completely and another legend in Kamaru Usman in his two middleweight outings.
Regardless, the real deciding factor may simply be the timeline. The last UFC middleweight title fight came in August, so it seems natural that the next one will take place soon, perhaps to begin 2025.
With Chimaev being infamously inactive lately, and still clearly having a rough cut to make 185-lbs, it is doubtful he would have any hope of making it to a fight in January, three months from now.
The most likely – and best-case – scenario for ‘Borz’ is another layoff, hopefully one shorter than a full year this time, as he waits for the Strickland-du Plessis rivalry to resolve itself and prepares for his first assault on the mountain that is UFC gold and glory.
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