Khamzat Chimaev just went from defending his UFC middleweight title to fighting the guy that even Logan Paul defeated, and this has raised more than a few eyebrows. The former champion is set to face Dillon Danis in a wrestling-only catchweight match at RAF 10 on June 13th, live on Fox Nation, at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri, one day before UFC Freedom 250.

The bout was always on the calendar. Chimaev signed with RAF during RAF 8 in April, with the understanding that his debut would come after his first title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 328.

Unfortunately for the Chechen, he suffered a split decision loss to Strickland. But now, it appears he is ready to blow off some steam from his first career loss and face Danis before he can pursue a potential rematch with Sean Strickland.

Chimaev steps into the RAF spotlight, alongside his friend and training partner, Arman Tsarukyan, against an opponent who lost his last bout to Colby Covington.

Dillon Danis previously faced UFC star Colby Covington in March at RAF 7. Despite being younger than Covington, Danis lost the bout via tech fall. He has also competed in a boxing match in 2023, where he suffered a disqualification loss to Logan Paul.

Regardless, when Happy Punch shared the news about Chimaev’s next fight on social media, the reaction was swift and largely unkind.

Users blast Khamzat Chimaev while predicting a loss against Dillon Danis

One fan pointed out the stark differences between Chimaev’s last opponent and the next one. The fan posted: “Guy was fighting for a world title a couple of days ago. Now he’s fighting ‘Danis’.” Chimaev had no other choice since he had already signed the contract. Even if he didn’t want the fight, he would have had to do it. 

Someone else felt Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t handling the loss well. And predicted Chimaev would lose this one as well. “Lmfao not taking the loss well I see. Watch him lose this too 💀,” the user commented. However, Chimaev has a good background in wrestling. And he has defeated Kamaru Usman in the UFC, who defeated Colby Covington. Unless Chimaev is severely unwell and distracted by his UFC loss, Danis stands little chance of winning on June 13.

Despite Chimaev’s accomplishments in the UFC, his latest loss has even this user convinced that he is set to suffer another one. “I honestly think Dillon Danis takes him in wrestling,” the user wrote. Even though the fight is at a catchweight, Chimaev is way bigger than Danis. There’s no real world where a genuine prediction would see Danis winning the fight. 

The next fan had a theory about why Khamzat Chimaev may have accepted the fight. “Got humbled so bad [that] he’s fighting Logan Paul’s son now🤣,” the user wrote. Regardless of the reason Chimaev chose to fight Danis, a win will help him get back in some strange way, even though in a competitive MMA setting, it would do little to suggest he’s back to his old form.

While everyone was mocking Chimaev, this user didn’t even believe the fight was happening. “Mark my words, this fight will not happen; both fighters are unreliable,” the user claimed. Dillon Danis has backed out of boxing matches in the past. And Chimaev, who fights less frequently than others, has also pulled out of several fights. He has even come in overweight for his fight against Nate Diaz, causing the UFC to scrap the fight and match him up against Kevin Holland at the last minute in 2022.

On pure wrestling credentials, Khamzat Chimaev remains a significant favorite regardless of the noise, and Danis has not demonstrated the wrestling base to trouble him. A win here would help Chimaev reset mentally before pursuing a Strickland rematch—a fight more important than the one he’s fighting next.