When it’s hunting season for Khamzat Chimaev, the Chechen wolf transforms into a relentless, terrifying force of nature. In UFC history, we have never seen an athlete as mind-bogglingly unnerving as ‘Borz’. It’s been six years since Chimaev started competing professionally, and no one has been able to hand him a single loss. Furthermore, the Chechen-born, UAE-based fighter has 12 finishes in 14 career fights.

With a perfect record and a series of stunning performances, Chimaev’s dominance is undeniable. He was last seen in action at UFC 308, defeating Robert Whittaker in the first round. In true Whittaker fashion, ‘The Reaper’ seemed highly impressed with his performance and now wants him to fight for the title next.

Robert Whittaker feels Khamzat Chimaev should be the first choice for the title shot

Dricus Du Plessis, the South African middleweight champion, has clarified that he wants Khamzat Chimaev next. ‘DDP’, known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power, believes a fight with Chimaev would be the perfect test of his skills. There’s only one problem, though, and that’s another former middleweight champion.

Sean Strickland lost the belt to Du Plessis in a very closely fought contest. Most of the fans and even experts believed that ‘Tarzan’ should deserve a chance for a title shot next. However, ‘The Reaper’ feels like Chimaev should be next in line for ‘Stillknocks’, as opposed to Tarzan. “I think you [Khamzat] should go straight to Dricus you know. I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded ever right? But not my call.”, Whittaker said on the ‘MMArcade’ podcast.

Perhaps, ‘The Reaper’ wants to see ‘Stillknocks’ being tested by ‘Borz’, as the current champion already faced ‘Tarzan’ in his last fight. Regardless, Khamzat Chimaev’s dominance impressed Robert Whittaker, although he was on the receiving end of the Chechen’s onslaught. While Chimaev won emphatically, he was sad at having to do what he did to Whittaker. After all, Chimaev previously expressed a reluctance to beat Whittaker saying, “I don’t want to fight with good guys, I need some bad guys.” Let’s see what ‘Borz’ had to say about the finishing sequence of his UFC 308 fight.

Khamzat Chimaev already knew that he had done some severe damage to Whittaker

There are very few fighters in the UFC who are as tough (and scary) as Khamzat Chimaev. The 30-year-old is a master of pressure and he did exactly that against ‘The Reaper’ – apply relentless pressure from the get-go. The comeback fight for ‘Borz’ had him all fired up, but deep down, the Chechen wished it wasn’t Whittaker who suffered the worst injury at his hands.

“In the fight, I already knew that something was broken. I heard something crunch. I felt sorry for the guy. Now he needs to be repaired.”, were his words on the ‘Hustle’ podcast. Chimaev even wanted to meet Whittaker after the fight and check on him – “No, I didn’t see him but I wanted to. My team tried to find him. We wanted to shake his hand but we couldn’t find him.” 

He doesn’t need to feel that bad, though, as Whittaker has healed from his surgery, and is back training with no contact, according to his coach. Now that he’s on the sideline for several months, he will join fans as they wait to see if Khamzat Chimaev gets paired with Dricus Du Plessis in his next outing. Everyone is interested in seeing how the Chechen’s relentlessness stacks up against the South African’s awkward, albeit effective style backed by toughness.

Will that fight happen? We’ll have to wait and see. What about Sean Strickland? What does he do with his #1 spot if that fight doesn’t pan out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.