“Israel Adesanya Is Not Guaranteed a Rematch”- Khamzat Chimaev credited for spoiling ex-UFC champ’s rematch chances as Dana White changed tunes post UFC 293

Can Khamzat Chimaev‘s popularity become dangerous for Israel Adesanya? Recently, UFC legend Chael Sonnen detailed Chimaev’s stardom. The Swedish fighter has an undefeated MMA record of 12-0 and has a huge number of fans who are eagerly waiting for his co-main event at UFC 294. Presently, ‘Borz’ is getting ready to defeat the Brazilian fighter Paulo Costa at UFC 294. Considering the vitriol between Chimaev and Costa, the bout between them would blow the roof off the Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Sonnen has set his hopes high for this matchup. He believes that fans are interested in watching this bout as Chimaev is one of the best fighters. If he hadn’t missed weight at UFC 279, by this time the 29-year-old would have received a title shot. Now he believes that the bout between Borz and Borrachinha holds huge potential, as the UFC may announce that the winner of the bout will become the number one contender in the division. Further, this can put Israel Adesanya in serious danger, as he may not receive a rematch against the current UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland. Let’s delve deeper into the matter.

Khamzat Chimaev can be dangerous to Israel Adesanya

Soon after the bout between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, UFC CEO Dana White was ready to set up a rematch between the two. However, now White is rethinking the rematch, and Sonnen believes that it’s because of Khamzat Chimaev’s stardom. Sonnen claims that if Chimaev manages to win UFC 294, he might get to fight UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland instead of Adesanya.

Sonnen said, “Chimaev was one of the best fighters in the world for a long time… He finally got the spotlight think he enjoyed. I think he did everything right. Chimaev is a lot younger than you might know. Chimaev’s like 27 years old. This guy’s got a decade left of shelf life. So I want to just take a look at this card… Now this is a co-main event. We weren’t talking about the main event six months ago.”

He added, “Three days ago it was announced that Israel Adesanya is not guaranteed a rematch with Sean Strickland and just so you understand what that means that I’m preserving the right to announce that Chimaev versus Paulo Costa is a number one contenders match.” Sonnen strongly believes that UFC CEO Dana White might keep ready some interesting bouts for Chimaev, as he is the favorite of fight fans. It is true that Chimaev’s popularity will badly affect the dreams of the former UFC middleweight champion.

Daniel Cormier is against the rematch

 Israel Adesanya highly disappointed his fans when he lost UFC 293 against Sean Strickland. The majority believed that ‘Stylebender’ would easily defeat ‘Tarzan’ and would successfully defend his title. However, things took an unexpected turn when Strickland achieved a glorious victory against one of the best fighters in the world. After the bout, many believed that the Nigerian fighter did not deserve a title shot as he had lost two title bouts within two years.

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Surprisingly, former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier felt the same. DC strongly feels that ‘Stylebender’ should not get a rematch against Strickland, as he was not even able to defend his title once after becoming the middleweight kingpin for the second time. Cormier felt that it was important for other fighters to get a chance so that the division could move further. Do you think that Israel Adesanya will get a rematch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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