Getty (L-R) Gilbert Burns & Khamzat Chimaev
Top-ranked UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev is eyeing a fight with 185-pound destroyer Alex Pereira.
Like Chimaev, Pereira recently burst onto the UFC scene in a big way. He signed with the promotion in 2021 as a 3-1 professional mixed martial artist. The former two-division Glory champion entered the Octagon for his first bout with a lot of hype surrounding him as he had beaten current UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya twice in kickboxing, including by knockout.
He made his debut at UFC 268 in November and starched Andreas Michailidis in the second round via TKO. He followed up the win by earning a unanimous decision over Bruno Silva in March.
And on Saturday night, “Poatan” knocked out No. 4-ranked middleweight Sean Strickland in the first round of their fight at UFC 276. Pereira is widely accepted as the rightful next contender to challenge Adesanya who defended his title in the night’s main event against Jared Cannonier.
Well, one person who wants to test themselves against the deadly striker is Chimaev. “Borz” has competed twice at middleweight and he reacted to a video on Twitter of Pereira getting his hand raised at UFC 276.
“I’m want to fight with this guy @ufc @danawhite let’s make it,” Chimaev tweeted.
Chimaev is 11-0 as a pro and is currently ranked No. 3 in the welterweight division. All in all, Chimaev is 5-0 in the UFC since making his debut in July 2020. Most recently, Borz took on top-ranked welterweight Gilbert Burns in an effort to jump the line at 170 pounds.
The fight at UFC 273 in April turned out to be an all-time classic with Chimaev edging the scorecards via split decision.
Pereira Said Adesanya’s Performance ‘Did Not Excite Me’
Poatan sat down for the post-fight press conference after defeating Strickland. He was asked for his thoughts on Adesanya’s performance against Cannonier. And Pereira, who sat in the audience for the fight, wasn’t entertained, to say the least.
“It did not excite me, and it did not excite the crowd,” Pereira said via Sherdog. “I was very sad to see that. I hope when we fight he do a better fight than that. But for sure I am going make him fight to give it a better show to the crowd.”
Pereira isn’t alone with his thoughts on “The Last Stylebender’s” striking battle with Cannonier. As the fight went into the fifth round, fans left the T-Mobile Arena in droves, something that is rare to see during a live UFC main event.
Adesanya Pointed to Pereira Challenging Him Next
During The Last Stylebender’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he made it clear that he intends to fight Pereira next.
“Look we know who’s next,” Adesanya said via Sherdog. “Trust me, the first time I told you, it was an error on my part spamming the right hand and that was in kickboxing.
“It’s easy to knock out, what’s the hillbilly’s name [Strickland], because he was parrying the jabs but like I said at the press conference, the next time I put you on skates, you’re going to get frozen like Elsa.”
And while speaking with the media at the presser, Poatan said he’s prepared to accept the fight whenever The Last Stylebender’s ready.
“Whenever he’s ready,” Pereira said via Sherdog. “I just finished my fight. I am fine. I can start training tomorrow. I’m going to take two weeks to enjoy my life a little bit. Whenever he’s ready. I’m good.”