Dana White on Khamzat Chimaev, ‘Nobody wants to fight this guy’
Dana White has been a fight promoter for many years. He knows fighter talent when he sees it, and he is claiming he has never seen anyone like Khamzat Chimaev. The Swedish welterweight has been on a fast rise in the division after four straight wins since his debut. He is such a force to be reckoned with that the UFC seems to be having a hard time finding him an opponent. Dana White spoke about Chimaev and his talent.
“Khamzat Chimaev is one of the baddest dudes that I’ve ever come across,” White said on the Jim Rome Podcast. “He is literally willing to fight anyone and doesn’t care what the timeframe is or any of that stuff… We’re working on (getting his next fight booked). Hopefully this week we’ll have an opponent for him.”
Chimaev has been working extra hard on social media lately. He is calling out every eligible fighter at the top of the division. He is looking at names like Nate Diaz, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and more. Although Chimeav has only been in the UFC just over a year, he is one of the most popular fighters on the roster. However, it seems popularity won’t get him a shot with the top five.
“Nobody wants to fight this guy,” White said. “Everybody wants to get out on social media and say this or that. But when it really comes down to it, nobody is trying to fight Khamzat Chimaev. I don’t blame them.”
There is one man who is actively trying to set a date with Chimaev, and that is Neil Magny. Magny thinks he can stop the train that is Chimaev and his hype. Chimaev is sitting in the number 11 spot of the official UFC rankings. With Magny sitting at number seven this seems like a much more plausible matchup. Very rarely can a fighter outside the top ten get a fight with a top-five opponent, however that being said if a fighter has enough hype around them they typically tend to have more opportunities thrown their way.
