5 opponents for Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 273 win

#4. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Belal Muhammad

Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Belal Muhammad has been a fight that’s been talked about in the past but never came to fruition. Prior to his bout with Burns, it seemed as though Muhammad would be his next opponent.

After his unanimous decision win over Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Muhammad called out ‘Borz’. When explaining his reasoning for calling out a fighter that was 4-0 in the UFC, Muhammad mentioned his hype as a factor. He stated:

“You go out there and beat a guy like that, you steal all of his hype, all of his shine. Then you just beat the boogeyman."

It’s understandable why Muhammad would choose to pursue that fight. Chimaev's popularity continues to grow, especially after the biggest win of his MMA career. If ‘Remember The Name’ were to hand him his first career loss, it’d be hard to deny him a title shot.

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#3. Khamzat Chimaev vs. Israel Adesanya

UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2

Despite ascending the rankings in the UFC’s welterweight division, Chimaev challenging Israel Adesanya for the middleweight championship shouldn’t be ruled out. He split time between welterweight and middleweight after his debut, so he’s more than capable of competing at 185 lbs.

While speaking with Daniel Cormier, Chimaev shared his thoughts on Adesanya.

“Israel, I think he will fight me. I don’t think the guy is scared. That guy is gonna fight with me, and I will fight the guy, as well. But this not my level, that guy. He gives his back to his guy who never did wrestling in UFC, never took somebody down."

It wouldn’t be unlikely for ‘Borz’ to eventually move up again and challenge Adesanya. He hasn’t shied away from letting it be known how he’d fare against ‘The Last Stylebender.’ He believes that he would even be able to defeat the middleweight champion with little difficulty.