Khamzat
Chimaev is extremely confident about the outcome of a potential
title fight with newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Sean
Strickland.
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Chimaev is gearing up to face former UFC welterweight champion
Kamaru
Usman, who stepped up on nine days’ notice as a replacement for
Brazil’s Paulo
Costa, in the co-main event at UFC 294. Moreover, UFC CEO Dana
White recently declared that the winner of this upcoming bout will
be next in line for a middleweight title shot.
Keeping this in mind, Chimaev was
asked about his take on a fight with Strickland down the line
during the recent UFC 294 pre-fight press conference. It is worth
noting that “Borz” and Strickland have trained together a few
times, particularly ahead of Chimaev’s outing against Gilbert
Burns at UFC 273.
“I mean I’ve taken him down, I’ve held him down, I’ve choked him,
I’ve punched him. I’ve done all those things, so I don’t see
something special about him,” Chimaev said. “He’s a fighter’s
fighter, he’s a good fighter. If you look at him, he’s like an
American cowboy from the movies. That’s the kind of guy he is…
We’ve done our work in the gym together and if they offer him to
me, if I can fight him for the belt, that’s what I’ll do. Make the
money, get the belt. I have nothing against him. I think that if
you compare us on a skill-level wise, I’m levels above him. I’m in
a whole different stratosphere from him. So he’s not a threat to
me.”