Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker‘s UFC 308 clash this weekend is being seen as a virtual #1 contender bout for the middleweight title. But is it really? Well, UFC CEO Dana White clarified this in a recent interview with Niko Pajarillo for Fox Sports. On being asked if Robert Whittaker will be next in line for a title shot if he wins at UFC 308, it was a strong yes from White. And while he didn’t explicitly say the same for Chimaev, he hinted that the same would apply to ‘Borz’ too if he prevails.

“There’s no doubt about it [that Whittaker would be the #1 contender if he wins at UFC 308]. Even though, again, I don’t know if you’ve heard over in Australia, but I’ve been bitching non-stop about the rankings. Even though where they have Khamzat ranked, you know, Khamzat is without a doubt one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous guys in that division. So this is a massive fight for Whitaker and it’s a massive fight for Khamzat, which is what makes this fight so great,” the head honcho said.

Chimaev, of course, is ranked #12 in the middleweight division but was set to fight for the title after defeating Kamaru Usman at last year’s UFC 294 PPV. However, an injury forced him to turn down a title shot in January. Dricus Du Plessis stepped in and defeated then-champ Sean Strickland via a razor-thin split decision to become the new champion.

And now Du Plessis and Strickland are set to rematch, which has been confirmed by Dana White. On being asked if there was a chance that the winner of Whittaker-Chimaev could leapfrog ‘Tarzan’ for a title shot, White was much more unsure, although he didn’t completely rule it out. “I don’t know about that. To talk about jumping guys in the line right now, let’s see how the fight plays out. Let’s see how the fight, you know, [plays out]… We got to see how it plays out before we start talking about jumping lines and stuff like that and who would get the next title shot in this division. This is the baddest fight that you could possibly make right now. So whoever wins, it’s a good thing for them,” White added.

And while it is not beyond the UFC to spring a surprise and shank Strickland, fans got another massive surprise to see a side of Chimaev at the UFC 308 pre-fight press conference they have never seen before.

Khamzat Chimaev’s new side after son’s birth

Lately, Khamzat Chimaev seems like a far cry from the same guy who used to stream that he would “kill everybody.” This drastic change in Chimaev was nowhere more apparent than the UFC 308 pre-fight press conference, where the undefeated phenom praised Robert Whittaker for being an ‘inspiration’ and a ‘legend’.

Not to mention he went out of his way to commend even Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria unprompted, which is in sharp contrast to the bombastic, relentlessly trash-talking Chimaev that most fans are familiar with. But what is behind this transformation? Some speculated it might be because of ‘Borz’s recent spate of health issues, which have robbed him of a title shot and put him out of action for a year.

However, Chimaev revealed that the birth of his son recently changed him as a person. Now he wanted to be the type of guy his son would be proud to call his father. And the type of guy who goes on unhinged rants about killing his opponents isn’t that.

“Before, I was crazy I was just doing the things… [now] before you do [anything], you think about like if my son grows up how’s he gonna see me? How will he think about me, ‘What kind of man my father is,'” Chimaev said. What do you think about Dana White’s comments about the title picture after UFC 308? What are your predictions for this middleweight clash between Whittaker and Chimaev? Drop your predictions in the comment section below!