Khamzat Chimaev has branded Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman "clowns" ahead of their UFC welterweight title fight.
Edwards and Usman clash in the main event of UFC 286 at The O2 arena tonight but Chimaev is seemingly not excited about their trilogy fight. The Chechen commented on an Instagram post promoting the fight: “Soon I’ll take my belt from these two clowns.” Edwards looks to make the first defence of his welterweight belt since winning it last August with a last-gasp head-kick against Usman in their rematch.
Chimaev's welterweight future was put in doubt after he missed the limit for the weight class by 7.5lb in his ill-fated fight against Nate Diaz last September. 'Borz' is confident he will continue his career at welterweight, but UFC boss Dana White seemingly has other plans for Chimaev as he said the unbeaten Chechen will compete at middleweight in his next fight.
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"He'll fight at middleweight [next]," White said of Chimaev. "He's in a position where he should be fighting top-three [ranked] guys in the world." Chimaev, who has competed at middleweight once in the UFC, previously hinted at a fight against the division's former champion Robert Whittaker. 'The Reaper' has insisted that he is open to the matchup as long as it pushes him one step closer to a title shot.
Chimaev currently sits at No.3 in the welterweight rankings and it's unclear if he would drop down back to 170lb after competing at middleweight in his next fight. Edwards was scheduled to fight the Chechen on three separate occasions but all of the fights were cancelled for injuries and Covid-19 issues to both fighters.
White planned to have Chimaev fight fellow top-ranked contender Colby Covington at the UFC 286 event but the fight never materialised. Chimaev has accused Covington of avoiding a fight against him, telling Red Corner MMA: "At first, they said it was Colby Covington. We've been waiting for half a year. It looks like he doesn't want it. They all call me out, but as soon as the UFC tries to make the fight, they start running.
Covington also made a surprise appearance in London on Friday morning, weighing in as a replacement fighter for Edwards and Usman's title fight. The welterweight rivals were unaware that Covington was serving as a back-up, but the American's services will likely not be needed as both Edwards and Usman looked in good condition as they made the 170b limit with no issues.
