Israel Adesanya on Khamzat Chimaev – “Why Do I Have to Pay This Guy Any Attention? It’s Like When the Dog Barks in the Wind, It’s Normal”

Israel Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, ignored surging star Khamzat Chimaev’s call out.

‘Borz’ after his dominant win at UFC 267 has been calling out top-tier fighters from Nate Diaz to Conor McGregor for a clash inside the UFC cage. Recently, he also called out the UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya.

After Izzy’s fourth successful title defense against his old rival Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, the Russian-born Swedish fighter took to Twitter and claimed Izzy is an “easy money” for him.

However, Chimaev is not a threat for the UFC middleweight champion right now. In a recent episode of The Brilliant Idiots podcast, Adesanya said, “I respect like his last fight. He showed what’s up. The guy (Khamzat Chimaev) fought Li Jing Liang was like a legit contender. But his next fight, Gilbert Burns, is a guy who will really test him.”

“But I think that might be a harder fight for him than people think. Also, an easier fight for him than people think. I think Khamzat, from what I am hearing he is really good.”– he added.

“He’s not even my weight class, so why I gotta pay this guy any attention? Until he does something that makes me take notice that I am like okay now, I have to take him seriously. For the moment, he is just barking in the wind. It’s like when the dog barks at the moon is normal,”- Izzy concluded.

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Interestingly, all these call outs have landed an opponent for the Chechen star. ‘Borz’ has verbally agreed to fight the number two welterweight contender, Gilbert Burns. Meanwhile, Izzy has defeated almost every fighter on the roster and is waiting for his next viable opponent.

Who is next for Israel Adesanya?

While it is still not official who will fight ‘The Last Stylebender’ next, the UFC president Dana White in the post-fight press conference claimed he will consider Jared Cannonier’s demands for a title shot next.

‘The Killa Gorilla’ secured his second straight win at UFC 271 and rightfully so, he demanded a title shot in the octagon interview. Considering White’s words, Cannonier might be the next viable opponent for Izzy.

Meanwhile, Sean Strickland, who is currently on a six-fight undefeated streak, might also be a viable opponent for the middleweight champion. Previously, Izzy stated he wanted to do three fights this year. Hence, we might soon see him return to action against one of the above-mentioned names.

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What are your thoughts on Izzy snubbing Chimaev’s call out? Who do you think is next for Izzy? Let us know in the comments below.