Champions chasing titles in two divisions did not was once so widespread. There was B.J. Penn, Randy Couture, after which Conor McGregor occurred. Because the McGregor period, Amanda Nunes, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Alex Pereira, Jon Jones, Henry Cejudo and Ilia Topuria have completed the feat. Islam Makhachev will strive at UFC 322.
Middleweight titleholder Khamzat Chimaev would additionally wish to change into a two-division UFC champion and believes he matches up nicely in opposition to gentle heavyweight knockout artist Alex Pereira.
“When you ask me, in fact I’d like to struggle for the second belt,” Chimaev stated on the Badaev Podcast (h/t Pink Nook MMA). “It’s no secret, the man who’s bought the belt at 205 kilos now could be an excellent matchup for me, apart from ought to I get reckless standing with him.
“They are saying he has a whole lot of energy, however I’ve by no means been edged out in that space,” Chimaev continued. “He used to struggle at 185, too, after which moved as much as 205. So I want to struggle at gentle heavyweight.”
Associated: Sean Strickland: ‘I am the one one which beats Khamzat Chimaev’
Chimaev gained the 185-pound championship at UFC 319 in August, dominating then-champion Dricus Du Plessis. He hasn’t defended the belt but, so he has some work to do at middleweight. He would not care who the struggle promotion pits in opposition to subsequent him so long as the checks have the correct quantity of zeros.
“Whether or not they give me Nassourdine [Imavov], [Reinier] de Ridder, or [Anthony] Hernandez, I don’t care. Simply pay me some good cash,” Chimaev stated “I’ve all the time been like that. When you take into account your self the perfect, you shouldn’t care who it’s important to struggle.”
