Longtime 170-pound king Georges St-Pierre recently said it was a “big disrespect” of Khamzat Chimaev to miss weight ahead of UFC 279 last weekend.
Chimaev was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz in a welterweight clash on September 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, he failed to hit the 171-pound mark a day before the event, weighing in at 178.5 pounds.
“Borz,” who is currently ranked No. 3 at welterweight, was moved out of the main event and pitted against Kevin Holland. He took out Holland in just over two minutes, catching the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in a D’Arce choke.
When speaking with The Schmo recently, “GSP” gave his take on Chimaev’s scale failure.
“Yeah, he needs to make weight,” St-Pierre said (h/t Middle Easy). “When you miss weight, it’s a big direspect, not only to your opponent, but to the sport. But we don’t know what happened. Maybe there’s a reason. Maybe there’s a medical reason or something. When you don’t know, you don’t know, but for sure in the future, if he misses weight another time, maybe that will prevent him from having a title shot.”
GSP Said Chimaev Should Have the ‘Chance’ to Fight at Welterweight Again
It’s unclear what division Chimaev will compete in for his next fight. During the UFC 279 post-fight press conference, promotion president Dana White hinted that Borz should move up to middleweight.
But with nothing set in stone, GSP said the UFC should allow Borz to stay at 170 pounds for his next bout.
“I don’t have any data or any information on what happened, but maybe you give him the chance to go back at 170 if he wants to, but he can’t miss weight,” GSP continued. “Missing weight, it’s hard to forgive.”
GSP Didn’t Shy Away From the Idea of Chimaev Fighting for UFC Welterweight Gold After Leon Edwards & Kamaru Usman Complete Their Trilogy
St-Pierre then pitched the idea of Chimaev receiving a title fight, but only after former UFC 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman gets a shot at redemption against the man who took his belt last month, Leon Edwards.
“As a fan, I would like to see Kamaru Usman get revenge [on Leon Edwards],” St-Pierre said. “If someone deserves it, it’s him. Maybe perhaps Chimaev will have a shot against the winner of this fight.”
All in all, Chimaev has an undefeated professional mixed martial arts record of 12-0. He’s 6-0 inside the Octagon, which includes three victories at welterweight. Chimaev surged up the 170-pound ladder earlier this year after he went to war with former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
In what turned out to be a “Fight of the Year” candidate, Chimaev and “Durinho” embraced in a slugfest for three rounds. And as history has it, Chimaev was awarded the win via unanimous decision.
Chimaev also holds a welterweight victory over Li Jingliang in what was his first test against a top-15 ranked opponent. They engaged at UFC 267 in October 2021 and Borz only needed three minutes to submit the Chinese fighter with a rear-naked choke.
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Georges St-Pierre Sounds Off on Khamzat Chimaev Missing Weight for UFC 279