MMA insiders highlight why Khamzat Chimaev vs. Islam Makhachev is improbable: "You make the 185-pound title weak" 

A former UFC fighter recently offered his thoughts on the potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Islam Makhachev matchup. He stated that the possibility of Chimaev dropping down to face Makhachev is highly unlikely.

Chimaev fulfilled his dreams of becoming a UFC champion earlier this month when he captured the middleweight belt from Dricus du Plessis via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 319. Notably, Chimaev hinted at his return to the welterweight weight class, suggesting that he will be paying close attention to the rumored Jack Della Maddalena's title defense against Makhachev. According to the newly crowned 185-pound champion, it's the fastest way to reach the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.

In a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, Josh Thomson said the UFC won't allow Chimaev to return to the welterweight division:

''Let's be honest, the UFC is probably not going to let Chimaev go down to 70 [welterweight division]. They're gonna be like, 'if you want to go anywhere, go up. Go up to 205 and then go up to heavyweight.' You got the wrestling to beat the heavyweights, if you can put the weight on properly. But let's get you to 205 first. You can for sure win a title at 205...I don't think it's going to be in the books for them to go to 170. They've already ran that through. You missed it by 8 pounds. It's just not going to happen.''

He continued:

''We've seen by his performance, he's got his cardio is fine when he's not having to cut weight and let's not take any chances because the other thing, look once he won that belt at 185, if you go to 70 now, you make the 185-pound title weak if you lose to a 70 pounder ans it looks bad.''

Check out Josh Thomson's comments below (1:29:08):

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Islam Makhachev is not focused on a possible fight with Khamzat Chimaev

During a recent Eagle FC press conference in Dagestan, Islam Makhachev didn't provide a clear answer in response to Khamzat Chimaev's remarks about potentially facing him inside the cage. The former lightweight champion stated that he did not want any hostility between the two groups:

''I’m answering this question here. I don’t want to open the door to any kind of conflict between our people. Well, we will see, I have a tough fight ahead...I was impressed by his domination. I think he was conserving his energy. He never forced anything. He wasn’t even putting power into his strikes. His goal was just to become UFC champion. If he wanted to, he could’ve forced [the finish]. He could’ve done more damage and finished the fight.''