Khamzat Chimaev vs. Demian Maia anyone?
That’s the plan for Fight Island per Dana White, after he competes
in the APEX pic.twitter.com/WbSTRB4RMV— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA)
September 4, 2020
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ESPN app. The article has been updated at 3:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 4
to reflect additional information.
Ultimate Fighting Championship wunderkind Khamzat
Chimaev has not one but two fights potentially lined up.
On Friday, UFC President Dana White spoke at a press conference
about upcoming matches for Sweden’s Chimaev (8-0). The rising star
is expected to appear at
UFC Fight Night 178 on Sept. 19 at the UFC Apex, now that the
fighter has cleared
his visa issues. According to Combate,
Chimaev will be squaring off with Gerald
Meerschaert (31-13) at middleweight, although the bout is still
in the works.
“Yes,” White responded simply to a question about a September
booking for Chimaev. “He’ll fight here [at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas] and he’ll fight in ‘Fight Island.’ Yeah, this guy wants to…I
love that mentality.”
Meerschaert last competed in June, and Ian
Heinisch handed „GM3“ his second career knockout loss in 74
seconds. In his last five bouts, the Wisconsin native has
alternated wins and losses, with split decision setbacks to
Eryk
Anders and Kevin
Holland interspersed between submission victories over Trevin
Giles and Deron Winn.
Of note, the submission specialist fighting out of Roufusport
was the first man to finish Winn as a professional. Throughout his
career dating back to 2007, Meerschaert has recorded 23 submission
wins — or nearly three times as many tapouts as his opponent has
in total bouts.
Chimaev attempted to compete again after his two quick victories
inside the Octagon, but visa issues prohibited him from competing
in the U.S. With those issues resolved, “Borz” is flying to Las
Vegas on Monday, where he will begin final preparations for his
camp for the Sept. 19 card. Meerschaert is not the only one that
Chimaev is preparing for, however, as he is looking to move between
divisions and get ranked at welterweight should he get past „GM3.“
“We’re working on a fight for him here, it’s still being worked,”
explained White. “But we’re talking about him and Demian Maia
[on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates].”
Chimaev burst on to the scene with an unbeaten 6-0 record with six
finishes within two rounds, and he has not disappointed in two
trips to the Octagon in July. His promotional debut came against
John
Phillips at middleweight, and he wiped out the Welshman with a
dominant first round and a brabo choke to seal the deal in the
second. Ten days later, the Swede dropped down to his natural
weight class of welterweight and took on the debuting Rhys McKee.
Chimaev demolished the man from Northern Ireland in just over three
minutes, and those two opponents landed exactly one
significant strike combined in those bouts. However, those two
men have won once across six UFC bouts.
The 42-year-old Maia suffered just his second career knockout
defeat his last time out in March, when Gilbert
Burns flattened him halfway through the opening frame of their
marquee matchup. The defeated halted a three-fight win streak which
saw the legendary Brazilian grappler tap out Lyman Good
and Ben
Askren, while taking a close majority verdict against the
surging Anthony
Rocco Martin. When Maia tapped Askren, he earned his 22nd win
under the UFC banner, trailing only Donald
Cerrone (23). The submission,
his 11th in the UFC, placed him in the second spot behind
Charles
Oliveira (14).
