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26-year-old Khamzat Chimaev is widely regarded as the next big thing in the UFC. Making his debut this past July, Khamzat Chimaev ran through John Phillips in just 72 seconds before making the quickest turnaround in modern UFC history - fighting just 10 days later and finishing his next opponent Rhys McKee in a little over three minutes.
UFC President Dana White then declared that he had never seen anything like Khamzat Chimaev in his two decades in the fight business. It was clear that Chimaev was set to receive a big promotional push. His one-punch knockout of Gerald Meerschaert less than two months later only proved that the hype was real.
In an unprecedented move, the UFC booked Khamzat Chimaev to face #3 ranked Welterweight Leon Edwards on December 19th in the main event bout. While rumors first emerged of Khamzat Chimaev testing positive for COVID-19, his camp denied it before news broke out that it was Leon Edwards who tested positive instead.
As a result, the bout has been postponed, with the targeted date presumably being some time in January 2021. Khamzat Chimaev reacted with respect, wishing his opponent Leon Edwards a speedy recovery:
Where will Khamzat Chimaev stand if he defeats Leon Edwards?
Many have questioned the UFC's move to book Khamzat Chimaev against the highly-ranked Leon Edwards. The British Welterweight hasn't lost a fight in five years.
Edwards revealed that the only reason he took the fight was because Champion Kamaru Usman was already booked against Gilbert Burns while Jorge Masvidal has a fight against Colby Covington targeted in the near future.
Edwards stated that Khamzat Chimaev was the biggest fight he could have taken outside of that, despite being ranked at #15.
A win over Leon Edwards would undoubtedly shoot Khamzat Chimaev to the top five rankings and potentially just a win away from a title shot. With that said, Leon Edwards is a huge step-up in competition for the Russian-born Swede, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against one of the best Welterweights in the world once the bout is rebooked.
