Khamzat Chimaev has called out fellow contenders Colby Covington and Leon Edwards alongside champion Kamaru Usman after his win over Gilbert Burns.
The 27-year-old secured victory in a gruelling battle with Burns at UFC 273 to leapfrog his rival in the welterweight rankings and move up to No.3. This represented a climb of eight places and he is now expected to face Covington after UFC kingpin Dana White explained his plans for the rising star.
However Chimaev has called out all three of the division's top fighters on social media, tweeting: "Who is next, @USMAN84kg, @ColbyCovMMA, @Leon_edwardsmma? #AbuDhabi." It is expected that Chimaev could look to challenge for the title within the next year with Usman set to first defend his belt against Edwards upon his return from injury in July.
This would leave Chimaev to face Covington whose win over Jorge Masvidal last month is unlikely be enough to secure a third meeting with Usman. A fight with Chimaev would likely act as a title eliminator with the winner challenging for the belt after Edwards.
The Chechen star faced the sternest examination of his UFC credentials when he was forced to recover from being dropped twice in the second period to win by judges' decision. Chimaev has now won all five of his fights in the UFC and is widely seen as a champion in waiting.
And White believes he is continuing to silence any critics of his rapid climb in level. "When you get into the top five in the UFC, it’s no joke, and especially in that [welterweight] division," he said after Chimaev's victory. "That division is straight killers. Tonight was a big test for him and he passed. You can’t train in the gym for what happened tonight, I’m sure this week he had a lot of pressure on him, a lot of anxiety.
"He’s human, any a****** [that doubted him] doesn’t think the kid’s human. He’s a human being, and he just beat the No 2 welterweight in the world in the UFC, with a couple of fights in the UFC. If you don’t think he’s the real deal, you’re out of your mind.”
Usman is unlikely to accept a challenge from Chimaev until the star has won more fights to assert his status as the leading contender to his crown. But a win over either Covington or Edwards would provide a serious boost to his title hopes.
However former UFC champion Henry Cejudo has advised Chimaev to avoid any meeting with Usman in the near future. "That was the right call," Cejudo told The Schmo. "But if Chimaev goes out there and fights The Nigerian nightmare like that, he's in big trouble man. We just saw him kind of become human here."
