Daniel Cormier hinted that Khamzat Chimaev is "not as tough" as Robert Whittaker, claims UFC veteran

Khamzat Chimaev's next opponent is seemingly anyone's guess. But Chael Sonnen has weighed in on why Paulo Costa should consider fighting Chimaev over Robert Whittaker based on Daniel Cormier's recent statements.

Sonnen spoke about Costa's contract situation and indicated that to achieve a championship, the Brazilian must fight and warrant a place on the roster instead of waiting his contract out:

"I'm just reminding you, I'm just setting the stage for you. 'Cause Paulo has two ways to do it, he can take a fight, he's done. Or he can not take the fight and just wait out the clause, which he said was early summer, he said it was June. And I think that the smartest move, if it is in fact June, the smartest move is to wait till June. If you are prized fighter and you wanna stay in the rankings, you wanna pursue a dream, you gotta get in there."

Sonnen then referenced Cormier's comments about Khamzat Chimaev and suggested 'Borrachinha' fight the Chechen-born Swede over Whittaker:

"But now you're in a situation when you said no to Whittaker, if you're gonna say yes to somebody else, and that's what your move is, it would only make sense that whoever you agree to is an easier fight than Whittaker. And I'm not sure, when Daniel suggested Chimaev, that Daniel meant it in that way but possibly he did. Possibly Daniel just stated that his opinion is that Chimaev is not as tough as Robert Whittaker."

Check out Sonnen's comments on his YouTube channel:

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Gilbert Burns believes Khamzat Chimaev cannot compete with bigger middleweights

Khamzat Chimaev's sternest test in the UFC so far has been Gilbert Burns. The two faced off at UFC 273 and put on a thrilling show before 'Borz' snagged a decision victory.

Watch Chimaev's full fight against Burns at UFC 273 on YouTube:

Amidst speculation of a move to middleweight for Chimaev, Burns voiced his concerns about it. In an interview with the Brazilian outlet Super Lutas, he said:

“I took him down, imagine what 'Poatan' [Alex Pereira] can do. If I was able to knock him down [consider Pereira's power], his hands must be so heavy. I took him down and he is still talk trash to those guys. 'Poatan’s hands are huge, 'Borrachinha’s hands are huge. It’s not that he lost himself. It’s that he couldn’t find himself. Things happened too fast for him. Three fights in and he was already a star. At first, I really liked him. He would call people out and keep fighting. Then he broke character."

Burns named compatriots Paulo Costa and Alex Pereira as potential opponents who would make short work of Khamzat Chimaev with their size advantage.