The undefeated UFC prospect Khamzat Chimaev was supposed to be the No. 1 ranked contender for UFC middleweight champ Sean Strickland after defeating Kamaru Usman. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case. Chimaev supposedly suffered a broken hand after the fight, which caused him to miss the title shot. But now, Chimaev seems to be eyeing a title from a different weight class.

Chimaev has recently called out the newly crowned light-heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, on X (formerly Twitter). Chimaev, in the tweet, tagged Dana White and wrote, “Let me finish him”. The tweet left the MMA world confused as to why ‘Borz’ would challenge ‘Poatan’, who’s a weight larger than where he usually fights. The former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen was one of them. Here’s what he had to say about the call-out.

Chael Sonnen was left confused by Chimaev’s call out to Pereira

Khamzat Chimaev is notoriously known for calling out almost anyone he pleases. His callout of Pereira was no different. Chael Sonnen, just like all of us, was left confused after Chimaev’s tweet. Sonnen uploaded a video addressing the tweet on his YouTube channel.

In the video, Sonnen states, “We were told in no certain terms that, Chimaev, should he beat Kamaru Usman will become the No. 1 contender and fight Sean Strickland.” “That did not happen, Strickland got a quick turnaround, he’s going to go with Du Plessis”

Sonnen then addressed the injury rumors, stating, “There are rumors that Chimaev had broken his hand in the fight with Kamaru Usman and therefore cannot go on. None of those were confirmed. Nobody actually has that piece of information”. He then addressed a second rumor by saying, “There are other rumors that Chimaev has travel restrictions. None of that would change and be a new piece of information”.

Chimaev, by no stretch, is a fighter who fibs. ‘Borz’ calling ‘Poatan’ out could only mean one thing. And that is, he believes he can beat Pereira. But none of us could guarantee what the Chechen has in mind.

Update on the injury of Khamzat Chimaev

After the fight with Kamaru Usman, Chimaev was reported to have suffered a broken hand. However, Chimaev’s manager had told ESPN that ‘Borz’ had suffered a torn ligament and not a broken hand. He said that even though Chimaev doesn’t need surgery at the moment, he would still have to wear a brace for at least 4 weeks.

Chimaev’s injury seems to be the cause of the undefeated middleweight not taking the title fight against Strickland. It feels like nothing can be sure of Khamzat Chimaev as of now until we know the outcome of Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

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What do you guys think would be next for Khamzat Chimaev? Will he fight the winner of Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis? or would he need to win a couple more fights to earn a title shot again? Let us know in the comment section below.

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