The year 2023 has so far been great for UFC fans. The year witnessed some great matchups, unexpected losses, and, most importantly, a number of ferocious fights. However, some of the tough fighters are now at a point where they don’t have any opponents lined up. One of them is the current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, and the other is the UFC fighter, Khamzat Chimaev. Islam Makhachev locked horns against the featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, at UFC 284 on February 11. After a back-and-forth clash, Makhachev won the bout via unanimous decision. The story is quite different when it comes to Chimaev.
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‘Borz’ is currently one of the undefeated fighters on the UFC roster. However, he messed up big time at the weigh-in for UFC 279; at the weigh-in, Chimaev missed the weight by 7.5 pounds. He weighed 178.5 pounds, while his opponent, Nate Diaz, weighed 171 pounds. This resulted in the Swedish fighter being replaced by Tony Ferguson. Since then, Chimaev has had no opponent lined up for him. However, ‘Borz’ is all set to move up to the middleweight division. Now, the next opponents of Makhachev and Chimaev are no longer a mystery. The retired UFC legend, Chael Sonnen, has finally revealed the possible opponents of the two fighters, even though no official confirmations regarding the same have been received.
The next opponents of Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev
Chael Sonnen was talking with MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, and during the conversation, he revealed information about the possible opponents of Makhachev and Chimaev. He said, “Well, so my understanding is Hamza is going to fight Paulo Costa. They’ve even got a date. They’re going to go out Abu Dhabi. That’s a co-main event very relevant.”
He further detailed, “They’ll be there for three rounds instead of five. Islam on top of the bill. Now the relevance to Islam on top of the bill is Islam is going to fight the winner of Charles and Beneil.
And that’s still three weeks away, so that means the card that I’m referencing out in Abu Dhabi and the placement of co-main event we’re four or five months away in a best-case scenario so it looks like we’re gonna keep those two on Ice.” This made it clear that something huge is getting baked by the promotion.
UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi
According to Sonnen’s speculations, Chimaev’s first new opponent in the 185-pound division would be Paulo Costa. While the bout between Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira at UFC 288 would decide who Makahchev would fight next. If Sonnen is right, both Makhachev and Chimaev would be a part of UFC 294; that event will be held on October 21, 2023, in Abu Dhabi.
Do you think Chael Sonnen’s predictions are accurate? Do let us know in the comments below.
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