Home

UFC

UFC 300: Dana White Under Pressure by Khamzat Chimaev as UFC Star Declines to Fight Leon Edwards

Published 02/12/2024, 8:55 PM EST

Follow Us

via Imago

Will Khamzat Chimaev finally take on the welterweight gold at UFC 300? The rumors around the much-touted pay-per-view have been swirling for months. There are fans who want Chimaev to stay true to his promise and deliver a big fight in the middleweight division and then some expect him to challenge Leon Edwards for his belt. Realistically, neither is possible.

First and foremost, the Chechen has shown his desire to stay and fight in the middleweight division. This almost instantly removes him from the welterweight, and even if he does decide to return, will Edwards accept a fight so soon after defeating Colby Covington at UFC 296? Perhaps, it won’t even get to that point.

Khamzat Chimaev is going to remain busy

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Khamzat Chimaev sent down a fiery warning to Dricus Du Plessis as soon as he became champion. He asked the champion to see him at UFC 300. Later on, rumors regarding him fighting Leon Edwards went afloat exciting fans for good. But now, everyone knows for sure, Chimaev will not be fighting in April.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest UFC stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

A fan asked ‘Borz’ whether he’ll be returning for the big pay-per-view or not. And much to everyone’s dismay, his response was “not fighting in Ramadan”. A devout Muslim, it makes sense for him to stay away from the cage during the holy month because it would affect his weight and performance significantly. Later, he would also talk about this over Instagram voice notes later published by MMA Uncensored.

“I will fight everybody brother,” he said. “Leon and Du Plessis anyone man. But not in Ramadan. I think Ramadan (is during) UFC 300. So maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia . . . not fighting in Ramadan anymore.” So he’s made it more than clear now.

The question remains unanswered. Who will headline UFC 300? It’s not Jon Jones, it’s not Khamzat Chimaev, and most likely not Conor McGregor either. If it’s going to be as big as White has made it out to be, at least some star power sounds almost necessary. Who will be the savior?

Watch This Story: Colby Covington Finally Opens Up About Turning Into a ‘Good Guy’ While Exposing Leon Edwards for Missing the Ultimate Point- “ UFC Is Not Going to Care for You”

Will Israel Adesanya come back?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Israel Adesanya‘s coach recently put up an Instagram story recalling the time they were “begging” the UFC to sign ‘Izzy’ on. Now, they are trying to urge Dana White to let Adesanya “save” UFC 300. That implies two things, firstly the pay-per-view might just need saving. Do the insiders know something we don’t? Perhaps White and the team have not been able to pull together a big main-event fight after all.

Watch This Story: Conor McGregor’s Insane 2022: Insane Bulk Up, ‘NSFW’ Yacht Video, Joe Rogan Beef and More

Now, Adesanya has to go and fill in the spaces to make sure that the PPV comes out as grand as it was promised. He is now one of the few popular options to go with especially since many big names have confirmed that they won’t be competing now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

He could fight his nemesis Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight belt and he’s been seen training as well. Will it actually come true? There’s no way to tell. In the end, White could pull a rabbit out of the hat and genuinely surprise everyone. And hopefully, he does, because fans are slowly becoming impatient.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Prit Chauhan

926Articles

One take at a time

Prit Chauhan is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His portfolio shows him as the go-to event coverage writer at ES and his work on UFC 297 is proof of the same. As an experienced writer and a longtime MMA fan, Prit’s strong suit lies in telling the relatively unknown and more personal stories of fights and fighters.
Show More>

Edited by:

Joyita Das