Khamzat Chimaev’s 2022 road map has been laid out after “Borz” shared his next two desired fights.
It is no secret that Khamzat Chimaev is always hungry for a fight. In 2020, he devoured three opponents in two months, thus having his name constantly regurgitated by the MMA community as the breakout star of the year.
Since then, aside from his lone bout against Li Jingliang at UFC 267, Chimaev has had trouble booking fights due to health-related issues and, according to UFC President Dana White and himself, nearly just as much because of the collective reluctance among welterweights to step into the cage with this animal.
For Chimaev’s part, other people’s tardiness to the party hasn’t stopped him from creating a guest list for his 2022 schedule. All roads lead to Kamaru Usman, as Chimaev has made no secret that he would like to fight the Nigerian-American for the welterweight title sooner rather than later.
But what about before then? For weeks now, Chimaev has been linked with Gilbert Burns for a potential fight, with the latest reports citing UFC 273 in April as the targeted date. But not unlike the first time there was chatter of the two men fighting one another, things have gone quiet as fans eagerly await an official fight announcement.
So what exactly is the holdup? Borz is just as much in the dark as the general public.
“He is number two in the welterweight rankings. All those numbers mean nothing. To be honest, I don’t see a real challenge in him,” Chimaev said of Burns in a recent interview with RT Sport. “We’ll see, everything can happen in a fight. But I am confident as usual… I don’t understand why I still don’t have a fight scheduled and the contract is not signed yet. The dude says something about April 9 on the internet, like, do you have your visa? I have my visa.”
If Chimaev gets his man and is locked in the Octagon with Burns, he already is leering beyond his current prey onto the winner of next month’s UFC 272 main event.
“I think they will give us a great fight,” Chimaev said of the upcoming bout between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. “Masvidal is a slight favorite for me. But Colby is also a tough guy. He fights well. We’ll see. I think it’s 50/50. I don’t care which of them wins. I am fighting Burns now, then, after beating Burns, hopefully, I will fight the winner of Masvidal/Covington… I think the winner of our fight with Gilbert will fight the winner of Masvidal/Covington for the interim title or just for the number one contender spot.”
Chimaev’s 2022 Road Map Routed Towards Gold
With his next two targeted opponents laid out, the only question for Chimaev’s 2022 plans is whether or not he’ll have time to squeeze in UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman. But make no mistake, “The Nigerian Nightmare” holds the ultimate prize that Borz is after, which makes him not only the top dog at welterweight but also Borz’s top prey.
“So your trying to change weight before I come for you?. Don’t go anywhere I am coming! I smash you and Burns in 2 mins believe me! I’m THE KING here,” Chimaev recently tweeted at Usman upon hearing rumors of Usman moving up to light heavyweight.
Chimaev should be happy to know that Usman has since reconsidered moving up to light heavyweight since Jan Blachowicz is no longer the division’s titleholder. So if Usman is able to retain the title over Leon Edwards in a bout expected to take place this summer and Chimaev is able to clean out Burns and the Masvidal/Covington winner, we may just be in line for a Usman/Chimaev showdown at year’s end.
How do you think Khamzat Chimaev’s 2022 will play out?
