Khamzat Chimaev is all set to compete for UFC gold five years after joining the promotion. After storming onto the UFC scene on his debut and being one of the most active fighters at the beginning, certain health issues and circumstances slowed him down. Nevertheless, Chimaev has been putting in top performances year after year, and it’s only Dricus du Plessis standing in his way at UFC 319 between him and the middleweight strap.

Interestingly, Khamzat Chimaev started off his UFC career as a welterweight fighter and beat some credible names. But he faced difficulties in making it to 170 pounds, and that forced Dana White’s hands to make him move up to the middleweight division, and now, here we are. When asked if he had any plans or intentions of going back to the division below, the Chechen star claims that he hasn’t given that idea a thought yet.

Claiming that he’s focused solely on beating Dricus du Plessis and making his millions this weekend, Khamzat Chimaev said that those plans can wait for now. “I’m looking to] just stay [in this division]. Focus on this fight, but after that, we’ll see. But we always have some different plans. We’ll see,” Chimaev stated during the recent media day. Well, the division is currently fixed with Jack Maddalena defending his belt against Islam Makhachev, and Chimaev gave weighed in on that fight as well.

Khamzat Chimaev claimed that he finds it tricky to choose a winner between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. After all, they’ve showcased some dominant performances over the years in the standup and in the ground game. Even though Makhachev once claimed that Australia doesn’t have wrestling, Maddalena, who’s Australian, dominated his teammate, Belal Muhammad, whose base is wrestling.

But Khamzat Chimaev did not shy away from making his pick, no matter how tough it was to do that. In the end, it was about brotherhood as the undefeated fighter chose his fellow Russian brother, claiming that he’s backing Islam Makhachev to clinch the double champion status. “It’s a good fight, but tough fight [to pick a winner]. I’ll go a little more on Islam,” ‘Borz’ added.

Khamzat Chimaev has always spoken highly of Islam Makhachev, branding him as a top fighter. So, it’s not surprising to see him pick the former lightweight champion. However, it appears from one of his recent statements that the undefeated star is not opposed to fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé in the future.

Khamzat Chimaev Talks About a Potential Fight Against Islam Makhachev

As we’ve mentioned already, Khamzat Chimaev has no plans of going down to the welterweight division and he’s focused on his middleweight run. But when asked about fighting Islam Makhachev, which will probably happen at 170 pounds, ‘Borz’ showed a little bit of interest. And while Chimaev didn’t give a direct answer, he claimed to be waiting to see if the Dagestan native beats Jack Della Maddalena, as he believes beating a champion is the “fastest” way to become the P4P king.

“We will see who’s gonna be the champ. I don’t know,” Khamzat Chimaev stated on the recent Open Workouts video. “It’s [beating a champion] the fastest way, if the guy wins the fight, to get pound-for-pound No.1.” It seems like Dana White has another superfight in his hands if both Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev can win their respective title fights.

Well, for now, Khamzat Chimaev will have to deal with Dricus du Plessis at the United Center this weekend and realize every fighter’s dream and become a champion. But in the meantime, let us know your thoughts on his prediction for the Islam Makhkachev vs Jack Della Maddalena fight in the comments below.