Khamzat Chimaev of Chechnya celebrates after his knockout victory over Gerald Meerschaert in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Khamzat Chimaev is one of the rising UFC stars but cannot get someone to fight him next
Daniel Cormier opened up on the problems Khamzat Chimaev is facing in getting a rival.
The 9-0 star has called out several UFC names but most of them have avoided facing him or turned him down.
Chimaev also claimed that he was turned down by Stephen Wonderboy Thompson and Chris Weidman. While the Swede is keen on picking up another win, no one is interested in fighting him. Cormier was speaking to Helen Yee and explained why no one wants to take on Borz:
“It is because he is so good and because he is not well-known yet. It is a risk to fight a guy like that.
“A guy that doesn’t have that big low number next to his name but you understand his skill set is so dangerous for anyone.
“I believe he gets a top guy, I believe he is going to end up fighting a guy like Wonderboy and then he will be locked into the top fight.
“I was one of the guys who wanted him to take it slower but after watching him dominate the way that he has up to this point, there is no reason to take it slow, he needs to be in there with the best fighters in the world.”
Cormier added that people see Chimaev as a risk since losing to a rising star would be detrimental to their careers.
The former UFC champion, however, believed that Thompson was the right fight for Chimaev:
“I think Wonderboy is the fight, I really do believe that that’s the fight for Chimaev. But anybody in the top 10, Neil Magny said he would fight him, I don’t know if that fight’s been offered but publicly he said he would fight him.”
It will be interesting to see who the next opponent for Chimaev is but the Swede seems ready for anyone.
Dana White had suggested that Chimaev was to headline his own card soon, but the Swede needs someone to step up soon.
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