Champions chasing titles in two divisions did not was once so widespread. There was B.J. Penn, Randy Couture, after which Conor McGregor occurred. Because the McGregor period, Amanda Nunes, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Alex Pereira, Jon Jones, Henry Cejudo and Ilia Topuria have achieved the feat. Islam Makhachev will attempt at UFC 322.
Middleweight titleholder Khamzat Chimaev would additionally wish to turn out to be a two-division UFC champion and believes he matches up effectively towards mild heavyweight knockout artist Alex Pereira.
“In the event you ask me, after all I might like to combat for the second belt,” Chimaev stated on the Badaev Podcast (h/t Pink Nook MMA). “It’s no secret, the man who’s bought the belt at 205 kilos now’s an excellent matchup for me, apart from ought to I get reckless standing with him.
“They are saying he has a whole lot of energy, however I’ve by no means been edged out in that space,” Chimaev continued. “He used to combat at 185, too, after which moved as much as 205. So I want to combat at mild heavyweight.”
Associated: Sean Strickland: ‘I am the one one which beats Khamzat Chimaev’
Chimaev gained the 185-pound championship at UFC 319 in August, dominating then-champion Dricus Du Plessis. He hasn’t defended the belt but, so he has some work to do at middleweight. He would not care who the combat promotion pits towards subsequent him so long as the checks have the correct amount of zeros.
“Whether or not they give me Nassourdine [Imavov], [Reinier] de Ridder, or [Anthony] Hernandez, I don’t care. Simply pay me some good cash,” Chimaev stated “I’ve at all times been like that. In the event you contemplate your self one of the best, you shouldn’t care who you need to combat.”
