Khamzat Shimaev in victory in UFC 294. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter @UFC
Jared Cannonier are you willing to face Khamzat Shimaev in a fight that could define the next challenger for the middleweight belt (up to 83,9kg.) UFC.
Cannonier, who was already a heavyweight (up to 120,2kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93kg), found the best moment of his career in the under-83,9kg category, where he competed for the title in 2022, but was defeated by Israel adesanya.
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Since then, he has bounced back with two consecutive victories, over Sean Strickland e Marvin vettori, and remained fourth in the division ranking. The fighter has also surpassed Anderson Silva in his career in the organization.
In an interview with Inside Fighting, Jared stated that he would accept to face Chimaev, who currently occupies ninth place in the rankings, as long as the fight was valid for the next title challenger.
“Right now, he is in 9th place in the rankings. I'm willing to make that happen, as long as it's clear that this is a fight to determine the next challenger. My focus is the title. If that means fighting for the belt and you say I need to fight Khamzat (Chimaev), let's do it”, declared the American.
Chimaev is the UFC's 'bogeyman'
Chimaev is one of the UFC's biggest revelations in recent years. The Chechen debuted in the organization in July 2020 and won seven fights in a row, alternating between the welterweight and middleweight categories.
With an aggressive and dominant style, he impressed by defeating the likes of Gilbert Durinho e Kamaru Usman, the latter a former welterweight champion, in his last appearance.
Khamzat was named by UFC president, Dana White, as a likely challenger for the middleweight belt, but he had to step aside due to health problems and saw Du Plessis win the title by winning Sean Strickland No. UFC 297.
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