9 Months After Altercation With Team Khabib, Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev Again at Crossroads as Both Choose Leon Edwards to Fight in Abu Dhabi

Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev haven’t been on the best of terms with each other since their altercation at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, they now find themselves at a critical juncture. Both fighters are gunning to fight the same opponent for the UFC 294 pay-per-view in the United Arab Emirates.

Khamzat Chimaev has not fought since UFC 279, where he defeated Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev last fought at UFC 284, in a close fight against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, which he won. Now, both fighters have their sights set on whom they want to fight next.

Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev want Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards silenced his doubters after defeating Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 and claiming his spot as the undisputed welterweight champion. Consequently, Islam Makhachev quickly called for a fight against ‘Rocky’. Now he has doubled down on his wish to fight the British fighter in a recent Twitter post. He seems to like the idea of becoming a double champion, something that his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, didn’t achieve during his UFC career. Makhachev wrote, “UFC Abu Dhabi, October 21st Makhachev vs Edwards What do you think?” 

Alternately, after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for his fight against Nate Diaz last year, Dana White made a stern statement announcing that the Swedish fighter will be moving to the middleweight division. However, ‘Borz’ seems to have decided to come back to fight at 170lbs and challenged Leon Edwards for a fight at UFC 294. He said, “[Leon Edwards] if you are a man let’s fight in Abu Dhabi.” 

This appears to have brought Chimaev and Makhachev to a crossroads. Both have similar plans for the Abu Dhabi event. But it is unlikely that they will get to fight Edwards anytime soon.

Dana White already has a plan for Leon Edwards

Colby Covington took the role of the backup fighter for UFC 286’s headliner on short notice. Keeping that in mind, Dana White announced that he would be the next contender for the welterweight championship. The UFC president was adamant about giving Covington a shot at the championship, despite ‘Rocky’s reluctance to fight the former interim champion,

The UFC initially wanted the fight to headline in July when the UFC returns to London for the second time in 2023. However, the plan got scrapped, and the promotion is yet to announce as to when they’d consider scheduling the fight.

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Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev’s desire to fight Leon Edwards may not come to fruition given that Dana White is committed to granting Colby Covington the welterweight title shot. However, anything can happen in the unpredictable sport of mixed martial arts, and fights can be quickly rearranged or replaced. It depends on the circumstances. We will have to wait and see how things unfold in the days to come.

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