Chael Sonnen explains why Khamzat Chimaev needs to fight Israel Adesanya before receiving a UFC middleweight title shot

Chael Sonnen weighed in on Khamzat Chimaev inserting himself into the UFC middleweight title picture after Alex Pereira changed the landscape of the division with his win against Israel Adesanya this past weekend.

Sonnen uploaded a video to his YouTube channel where he explained why it's important for Chimaev to fight Adesanya before receiving a middleweight title shot:

"If somebody had been going after Pereira before the fight, I'd give him a pass. If somebody was trying to get in Pereira's wheelhouse, which is always a hedge that you must make as a fighter."

'The American Gangster' alluded to 'Poatan' being the underdog going into his fight with 'Izzy' despite having already defeated him twice in kickboxing. He added that it would have been more impactful had 'Borz' gone after Pereira in the days leading up to UFC 281:

"You must take that risk no matter what the underdog is. When a guy is the underdog, nobody is looking at him, he is fair game. You should be the one attacking him. You should be in his face. If he loses, go deal with it, you're in there with a former number-one contender. If he wins, you're now the guy. And how the world missed that particularly when the guy is undefeated and has beaten the champion twice. It was a miss."

This isn't the first time that Chimaev has teased going after the middleweight championship. His UFC tenure began with splitting time between 185 lbs and 170 lbs, so he has proven that he's capable of competing in both divisions. Most recently, he tweeted that he'd like to fight Pereira and even offered to do it in Brazil.

Check out the full video below:

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What's next for Khamzat Chimaev?

Khamzat Chimaev has become another example of a UFC fighter whose popularity has skyrocketed since making his promotional debut.

UFC President Dana White mentioned that the promotion is currently working on booking Chimaev vs. Colby Covington. The bout had been in the works since earlier this summer but didn't end up coming to fruition.

If 'Borz' were to defeat the former welterweight title challenger, that would be a strong argument for a welterweight title shot. With reigning welterweight champion Leon Edwards expected to defend his title against Kamaru Usman in 2023, perhaps a move back up to 185 lbs could also be a possibility. He's had his fair share of altercations and interactions with top middleweights, so targeting the new middleweight championship could also be a logical move.