Khamzat Chimaev Believes He Beats Elite Champion Alex Pereira and Coach Glover Teixeira In One Night
Newly crowned Middleweight king Khamzat Chimaev went live on his instagram and answered fans questions as they flooded the comments. The unbeaten 31 year old has grown a fanbase ever since his debut in the UFC back in 2020. Now 9-0 inside the UFC octagon but with plenty of stumbling blocks along the way, he finds himself with the 185lbs belt and looking for another.
His UFC tenure started at 170lbs, in his first 5 fights he earned performance bonuses in every single one. Late in his debut year he suffered horrendously with Covid-19 and his career could well have been cut short but he returned to the Octagon a year later at the end of 2021 and was victorious once again. Complications and injuries inevitably drove Chimaev up a weight class to 185lbs where he defeat reigning champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319.
Khamzat Chimaev vs Alex Pereira?
Double champion status had been greatly popularised by Conor McGregor and every champion seems to be calling for another belt as soon as they achieve their first. On his rise through the UFC it was mentioned that given his size Chimaev could well be the first to hold three UFC titles across the 170lbs, 185lbs and 205lbs division. However, given the ending to his tenure at welterweight a return to that division now seems farfetched.
Current king at light heavyweight Alex Pereira has already claimed belts at both 185lbs and 205lbs. Now it is ‘Poatan’ that fans feel could do the unthinkable and become a three weight champion. Given the anticlimactic end of UFC 321 Pereira’s move up to heavyweight appears to be suspended temporarily unless he faces a returning Jon Jones. As there is no clear contender at 205lbs for Pereira fans could expect a spell of inactivity unless a super fight presents itself.
Chimaev has called out almost every fighter on the roster from 170lbs division and above. The call out of Alex Pereira and his long term coach Glover Teixeira are not unexpected. While Pereira was champion at middleweight Chimaev was calling for his shot regularly but could never build a strong enough case before the move to 205lbs. Coach and fellow former Light Heavyweight champion Teixeira is well and truly retired at 46 years of age. The call out of him could be more personal rather than professional with the coach recently claiming Chimaev is a very rough sparring partner.
Could we one day see Khamzat Chimaev vs Alex Pereira?
