“Dana, what’s wrong with the UFC, man? Give me my belt,”, roared Khamzat Chimaev after he broke Robert Whittaker’s teeth at UFC 308. The undefeated Chechen warrior has been with the promotion for four years now and it appears that his patience has worn thin. After his masterclass performance against Whittaker, Chimaev jumped several spots in the middleweight rankings, securing the third position just below Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.

According to many legends within the sport, Khamzat Chimaev deserves a title fight against Dircus Du Plessis but UFC CEO Dana White had other plans for the middleweight champ as ‘StillKnocks’ will now have to defend his belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Regardless, as the MMA community waits for Chimaev’s title shot, let’s have a look at what options ‘Borz’ has.

When will Khamzat Chimaev fight next?

With a record of fourteen victories and zero defeats, Khamzat Chimaev is one of the biggest stars in the promotion. However, what continues to hold him back are his recurring health issues. The dominant Chechen star has fought only four times in the past two years, with a gap of nearly a year between each of his last two fights. Well, his last two opponents were Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker and there’s a pattern to his fights.

‘Borz’ fought Kamaru Usman in October 2023 and interestingly, he fought Whittaker in the same month in 2024. It must be noted that most of the Muslim fighters within the UFC banner like to avoid fighting (or even training) during the holy month of Ramadan. In one of his conversations with the media, Chimaev emphasized that he was ready to face everyone but refused to fight during Ramadan, “I will fight everybody. Leon (Edwards), (Dricus) du Plessis, anyone, but not (during) Ramadan. I think Ramanda (is during) UFC 300. Maybe [I’ll face] somebody in Saudi Arabia. I want to fight there. [But I’m] not fighting in Ramadan anymore.”

In 2025, Ramadan will be observed globally from February 28th to March 29th. Therefore, it is likely that Khamzat Chimaev will stay away from the fighting world during this time, and it seems more likely that we will witness some action from Chimaev during the second half of the year. But the important question is; who is he going to fight? Let’s find out.

Will Khamzat Chimaev face the winner Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland?

Former middleweight champion of the world, Sean Strickland will be facing Dricus Du Plessis once again, but this time to regain his title. Both of the middleweight stars locked horns at UFC 297, and ‘Tarzan’ entered his first title defense against ‘Stillknocks’ but failed to retain his belt as Du Plessis beat him in a close contest. A year later, the two will clash again, but this time, the roles will be reversed.

So, does that mean that Khamzat Chimaev deserves his title shot after UFC 312? Well, many within the organization believe that ‘Borz’ should have been awarded the fight even before Strickland but Dana White intervened, given that Strickland is at #1 in the rankings. However, the former middleweight champion and Khamzat Chimaev’s former opponent, Robert Whittaker, believes that ‘Borz’ deserves a title shot.

While having a conversation with the MMArcade Podcast when ‘The Reaper’ was asked about whether Chimaev should have been given priority above Strickland, Whittaker asserted, “Definitely. Khamzat was in the discussion when he beat Usman that time. And then he had the time off and then he fought me, beat me. So I don’t know, he’s always kind of been in the title discussion. He’s undefeated. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s hard to argue against him getting a shot at this point — especially if you’re giving Sean Strickland a title shot like that.”

Interestingly, even Dricus Du Plessis wanted to take on Chiamev, “Just for clarification I preferred the Khamzat fight. But the rematch is a fight most wanted before Khamzat vs Whittaker. I’m not unhappy with the UFC’s decision, like I said, I’ll fight the man fans think is the next best guy. He was promised the fight, so Strickland it is.”

Well, when your former opponents rally behind you for a title shot, then that speaks volumes about the kind of fighter ‘Borz’ is. Regardless, what if Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t fight for the title next? Who are the possible opponents on the Chechen finisher’s horizon?

If not a title shot, what next for ‘Borz’?

Well, let’s say, for some reason, Khamzat Chimaev is asked by the promotion to fight another bout before the title shot, and ‘Borz’ agrees with it. Who would be the most intriguing matchup for the Eastern European fighter? First and foremost, knowing the competitive ability of ‘Borz’, the Chechen warrior would for sure like to clash against one of the greatest middleweights of all time, Israel Adesanya. Arguably one of the biggest stars within the promotion, Adesanya will be clashing against Nassourdine Imavov at the UFC Saudi Arabia card, and if he secures the victory then a clash with Chimaev makes absolute sense.

In addition to that, Adesanya, as well as Chimaev are two of the biggest superstars of the promotion and a clash between these two hotshots would rake in massive PPV numbers for sure. But again – if not ‘Stylebender’, then who? Well, then we have the rising Brazilian star Caio Borralho from team ‘Fighting Nerds’, who is undefeated in his UFC career. The Brazilian is riding a nine-fight winning streak within the promotion and is steadily surging through the ranks, standing at #6.

The middleweight division is rife with contenders who Khamzat Chimaev can possibly face in his next series of fights. Will he be willing to step into the Octagon for anything less than a title shot? Perhaps, perhaps not. We’ll just have to wait and see for now. What do you think? Who should ‘Borz’ face in his return, and does he deserve a title shot? Let us know in the comments down below.