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Sean O'Malley has discussed how Khamzat Chimaev would fare if he returns to the UFC middleweight (185-pound) division. Heading into UFC 279 earlier this month, Chimaev was on the cusp of earning a UFC welterweight (170-pound) title shot. 'Borz' was set to face MMA legend Nate Diaz in a welterweight matchup at UFC 279.
However, Chimaev missed weight by a whopping 7.5 pounds. He was resultantly rescheduled to face Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight matchup. 'Borz' dominantly beat Holland via first-round submission at UFC 279.
In the ensuing days, Chimaev hinted that his next UFC bout could be contested at middleweight. The Chechnya-born Swedish wrestling savant is undefeated in his MMA career, having impressed at both welterweight and middleweight thus far.
Speaking to The Schmo, Sean O'Malley opined that -- as opposed to what Chimaev's done to most opponents -- he's unlikely to dominate the elite UFC middleweights.
The UFC bantamweight (135-pound) superstar indicated that 'Borz' won't have it easy against fighters such as former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa and former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Predicting that Chimaev will probably fight at middleweight next, O'Malley stated:
"I just don't see any other way. I don't think he can physically make 170. It just doesn't appear to be that way. I think he'll do fine at 185. He's very talented, very skilled, and he's a big guy. So, I think he'll do fine at 185. I don't know if he's going to run -- I mean, if he fights [Paulo] Costa, Robert Whittaker."
"I know he kind of said, 'You know, I don't really wanna fight Robert Whittaker. He's a nice guy.' It's a good way of saying that guy's a tough fight. So, 185 is definitely going to be challenging."
Watch O'Malley discuss the topic at 3:42 in the video below:
Michael Bisping reveals which fighter Khamzat Chimaev needs to beat to earn a UFC middleweight title shot
Taking to his YouTube channel, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping addressed Khamzat Chimaev's possible return to middleweight. Bisping opined that if Chimaev intends to earn a UFC middleweight title shot, he first needs to defeat Paulo Costa.
Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa got into a verbal altercation at the UFC Performance Institute (PI) a few days ago. They've time and again clashed on social media as well. Highlighting their ongoing feud, Bisping insinuated that Costa's doing a great job of building up their potential fight:
"If he [Khamzat Chimaev] goes and fights Paulo Costa, and if he beats him, he's probably going to get a title fight at 185lbs and 170 will seem like a distant memory."
Watch Bisping's assessment below:
