Khamzat Chimaev is done playing musical chairs with weight classes. The undefeated middleweight champion has now declared that he would defend his 185-lb belt one more time before finally moving up for good. In that regard, he has been eyeing one man: Alex Pereira.

Tensions between Chimaev and Pereira reached a point where the two were seen feuding with each other on social media. As a result, the middleweight champion is eyeing the light heavyweight title as his next logical step, and if what he says is true, he has already pictured himself dethroning ‘Poatan’ and taking the title straight from him.

Khamzat Chimaev eyes one last 185-lbs test before chasing Alex Pereira at 205

Chimaev recently doubled down on his plans in a fresh interview, making it clear he’s ready to clear out whoever steps up at 185 before he heads north. “In my weight class, whoever. There is [Nassourdine]Imavov, there’s [Sean] Strickland, [Anthony]Hernandez… whoever. All of them, I see a big check, good money. There are a lot of options. But I want to—for sure—one more fight, and then I’m going to go one more weight class up. One more fight, and I move up next fight,” he said to ESPN MMA, sounding fully committed to wrapping up his middleweight chapter before chasing a fight with Pereira at 205 lbs.

The rivalry has become so large that the UFC cannot ignore it any longer. Chimaev has done everything, from gentle poking to loud shouting, to get Pereira’s attention, and has also made passing remarks regarding the relationship between their respective star powers, and also joked that a mere ‘hi’ on Instagram gets more publicity than all of Pereira’s fights.

He even laughed off Glover Teixeira’s “hotel beatdown” threat, telling them to take it to the octagon instead. Pereira’s side has fired back just as confidently—Teixeira warning Chimaev about the danger he’s walking into, and Pereira brushing off the callouts as hype-chasing.

A big part of MMA Twitter is already treating Khamzat Chimaev vs. Alex Pereira as the biggest battle the UFC can make outside a hypothetical Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou rematch. The fighters might not have signed anything yet, and Pereira may be chasing Jones for now, but the hype machine is up and running. If both men land where they’re aiming in 2026, this might become the superfight everyone ends up circling on their calendar.

Khamzat Chimaev says Alex Pereira is avoiding him as a 205-pound collision looms

Khamzat Chimaev has not been hesitant at all to announce his wishes, and he has distinctly informed that Alex Pereira is the one he desires when he first enters the light heavyweight division. In his recent statements, Chimaev intensified the situation even more by directly alleging that the ruler of 205 lbs is avoiding him.

Chimaev kept it simple, saying stop with the side quests and meet him in the cage: “Good fight for me. Everyone knows that. UFC knows that, but UFC doesn’t want to give this guy to me,” he said, doubling down on his belief that Pereira has been avoiding a direct clash. Chimaev even brushed off Pereira’s offer for a charity grappling match, adding, “And [Pereira] said, ‘Oh, I’ll come to you, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, grappling,’ I don’t know what. Grappling, jiu-jitsu, it’s not our job. Our job is UFC.”

Then came the line that lit MMA Twitter on fire. “I don’t think he wants that fight. He knows about it, and UFC knows about it. I can’t say the things UFC says, but it’s going to be no respect for Alex, because everyone knows this guy is not my level… He knows it. That’s why he’s running away.”

If both Chimaev and Pereira keep winning in 2026, the collision course becomes inevitable, and when it happens, it’ll be one of the most volatile champion-vs-champion matchups the sport has ever seen.