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Alex Pereira lost his middleweight championship at UFC 287 by knockout, and Khamzat Chimaev celebrated “Poatan’s” first Octagon defeat.
Pereira battled Israel Adesanya in an immediate rematch on Saturday night in Miami, Florida, around five months after Poatan dethroned Adesanya by fifth-round TKO at UFC 281. Pereira was 3-0 against The Last Stylebender heading into the cage at UFC 287, which included two wins in kickboxing. However, Adesanya finally toppled the larger Pereira, knocking him out cold in the second frame and taking his 185-pound strap back.
Chimaev is ranked No. 3 in the welterweight division but according to UFC president Dana White, he’s moving back up to middleweight for his next outing and will likely fight a top contender. Well, “Borz” chimed in with a comment on Pereira’s loss as well as Jorge Masvidal’s, who dropped a unanimous decision to 170-pound contender Gilbert Burns in the co-main event.
“@AlexPereiraUFC @GamebredFighter good night for you to (face-palm emoji and salute emoji),” Chimaev tweeted.
Chimaev also took the opportunity to call for an immediate shot at middleweight gold. “Congratulations @stylebender see you soon (salute emoji),” Chimaev tweeted. “Now it’s my time (fist emoji) let’s go make it happen @danawhite (salute emoji),” Chimaev continued.
Pereira Dismissed Chimaev as a Potential Title Contender During Fight Week
While at media day on Wednesday, Pereira shared his disinterest in Chimaev battling him for the belt next. Instead, he noted former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and ex-title contender Paulo Costa were candidates waiting in the wings for a crack at gold.
“This week, I’m obviously focused on Israel, but talk about Whittaker and Paulo Costa,” Pereira said through an interpreter (h/t MMA Junkie). “I know they want to fight me. They were never disrespectful. They always kept their composure, but when you talk about Chimaev, he’s the kind of guy that seems to be a little lost — talks too much.
“Right after my last fight, he said that he wanted to fight me at this weight class. He knows it was right after the fight, everybody’s injured. I could not make that weight so I challenged him to fight at 205 pounds — ran. To be honest, if it’s Whittaker or Paulo Costa, if the organization wants to put us to fight, it’s my job to fight as the UFC champion, but I don’t even want to talk about Chimaev.”
Chimaev Recently Called Out Costa, Hasn’t Publicly Declared Move to 185 Pounds
Borz has competed twice in the UFC’s 185-pound weight class. The 12-0 professional mixed martial artist debuted in the promotion as a middleweight in 2020 against John Phillips. He submitted Phillips with a second-round D’Arce choke. Around two months later and following a successful welterweight tilt, he fought Gerald Meerschaert and knocked out the UFC vet in 17 seconds.
His next two fights were victories at 170 pounds. However, Borz’s last match was contested at a 180-pound catchweight after he missed the welterweight limit by nearly 10 pounds. He fought and defeated Kevin Holland at UFC 279 in September 2022. Although Chimaev hasn’t publicly committed to moving up to middleweight, he called out Costa via Twitter ahead of UFC 287.
Sharing a photo of what appears to be him standing on a scale that reads 98.5 kg (around 217 lbs), Chimaev tweeted: “Cotsa I am coming for you (salute emoji and laughing emoji). See below:
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