As the promotion gears up to enter its historic Paramount+ CBS era, Alex Pereira and Khamzat Chimaev have started beefing once again. To crank up the animosity, ‘Poatan’s coach, Glover Teixeira, also had some heated words for ‘Borz’, and the 185 lbs champion didn’t waste any time firing back.

In an Instagram Live, Glover Teixeira appeared alongside Alex Pereira, where the former light heavyweight champion warned ‘Borz’ of a possible altercation. Not inside the Octagon, but in a hotel lobby. Once Teixeira dropped that threat, fans instantly knew Chimaev wouldn’t stay silent. And as expected, the current middleweight contender didn’t think twice before issuing a challenge to Pereira’s coach. 

Khamzat Chimaev gives a fiery response to Glover Teixeira’s threat 

“Texeira, yeah Texeira. He said if he see me in hotel or something. Bro, I don’t need the hotel, you need to come to the UFC. If you have a contract, if you want to fight, let’s go. Why you saying hotel and stuff, it’s baby s—t bro. If you wanna fight, real fight, we meet somewhere. So let’s see, who has a big heart,” Chimaev told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview.

That’s definitely a fight fans would’ve enjoyed back when Glover Teixeira held the belt. But as of now, the Brazilian legend has retired after losing to Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in 2023. So the chances of him coming back to face Chimaev are slim, although there’s always that tiny possibility they cross paths in a hotel lobby for a fiery exchange.

Top Stories

UFC 323 Payouts: How Much Will Merab Dvalishvili, Petr Yan, Alexandre Pantoja, and Others Earn?

WATCH: Jamahal Hill and Joanna Jędrzejczyk Get Into Heated Altercation Backstage at UFC 323

Ilia Topuria’s Divorce Rumors Get New Twist on Joe Rogan Experience as Guest Brings Up Wild Theory

Dana White Lands in Hot Water After Backing UFC Doctors on Alexandre Pantoja

Joe Rogan-Daniel Cormier Urged to Step Down After ‘Ruining’ Tatsuro Taira’s UFC 323 Moment

As the Chechen-Emirati star sent some sharp words toward Alex Pereira’s coach, he kept the same energy, if not more, when the topic turned to Pereira himself.

“I don’t think so. He wants that fight. He knows about it, and the UFC know about it. I can’t say the things what UFC says to me. But it’s gonna be not respectful for Alex. Because everyone knows this guy isn’t my level.” ‘Borz’ added in the ESPN interview, but he wasn’t done responding. 

Khamzat Chimaev pushed things even further and grilled Alex Pereira for not even considering him as a popular option for the White House fight, while dropping a sharp one-liner in the process. 

‘Borz’ takes a shot at Alex Pereira for snubbing him for the White House card  

After Alex Pereira defeated Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, he made it clear that his next move would be a heavyweight showdown against Jon Jones at the White House event. To him, fighting ‘Bones’ feels like a dream matchup at one of the UFC’s biggest spectacles, which is expected to take place next year. However, while Jones easily fits Pereira’s idea of a massive superstar, Khamzat Chimaev does not seem to make that cut.

On multiple occasions, ‘Poatan’ implied that ‘Borz’ lacks real star power. In his YouTube video, Alex Pereira claimed that Khamzat Chimaev only “runs behind the hype, and the fame of the champions.” So, Pereira is not interested in sharing the Octagon with the middleweight champ, but he did invite him for a grappling match instead. Now, ‘Borz’ decided to fire back at that criticism as well.

“He’s saying he’s more famous than me. That’s why I’m using his name? Bro, if I say ‘hi’ in my Instagram story, I make more views than his fight. So, I don’t think so,” Chimaev said in the ESPN MMA interview.

When it comes to popularity, the current middleweight champion’s weigh-in at UFC 319 ranks as the highest watched UFC live event this year on YouTube, with over 105k viewers, while Pereira’s return at UFC 320 pulled in around 57k. So, ‘Borz’ definitely stands strong as a star, contrary to Pereira’s belief. Still, there is no doubt that both fighters rank among the UFC’s biggest engagement magnets, and they would probably pull even more eyes in a potential White House showdown.

That said, do you think Pereira and Chimaev will end up fighting with this heated build-up? Let us know in the comments section what you think.