Dana White reveals Khamzat Chimaev’s next fight will be a main event against a ranked opponent

Although that could just be him talking, UFC president, Dana White confirmed the news at the UFC 253 press-conference on Fight Island. The unfortunate news is the fact Chimaev will not fight on Fight Island, meaning he won’t compete again until November at the earliest.

“No, he will fight in Vegas,” Dana White said. “It is true (he will be main event). No (update on opponent). Yes (it will be a ranked opponent).”

Chimaev made his UFC debut back in July. There, he dominated John Philipps en route to a second-round submission win at middleweight. He then fought again 10 days later where he beat Rhys McKee by TKO at welterweight. Chimaev could be one or two wins away from a title shot.

With the way Khamzat Chimaev it is hard to say how far up the rankings his next opponent will be. It also is uncertain what division it will be at as he has been going back-and-forth between welterweight and middleweight but many believe he is better at 170-pounds.

Looking at the rankings, there are some people without fights like Leon Edwards, Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, Michael Chiesa, Neil Magny, and Vicente Luque. All do make some sense for the Swede’s next fight and fans will finally get to see how he fares against top-15 fighters.