"He's not fighting for the title" - Fans debate whether Khamzat Chimaev being ranked 9th after UFC 294 will nullify immediate title shot

UFC sensation Khamzat Chimaev returned to the middleweight division for good this past weekend in UFC 294's co-main event.

Chimaev was scheduled to face Brazilian contender, Paulo Costa, but a last minute withdrawal led to a matchup against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Chimaev dominated phases of the bout and secured a majority decision victory.

In the aftermath of his high-profile victory, Khamzat Chimaev debuted at No.9 in the middleweight rankings. Some fans took his ranking as an indication that he would not be given an immediate title shot against Sean Strickland, while others disagreed:

"I'd like to think the fact that they put him 9 when they could've easily put him higher suggests that he's not fighting for the title next. Last time I remember someone being ranked that low getting a ts was 7 years ago in Henderson"

"That's how u get title shot at middleweight - U beat an unranked guy then u get title shot Sean beat unranked abus then got title shot Khamzat beat unranked Kamaru then got title shot"

"Sean Strickland is a hypocrite as how can he argue chimaev doesn’t title shot when he also got one of the most undeserved title shots? He was 2-2 and his last fight was against some random German"

Others echoed the controversial sentiment that rankings do not carry any significance:

"My thoughts are that rankings don’t matter"

Check out fans comments in the screenshots below:

Fans react to Chimaev's middleweight ranking.

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Sean Strickland blasts Khamzat Chimaev for not deserving a title shot

Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman were reportedly contending for a title shot against middleweight champion Sean Strickland in their UFC 294 bout.

Sean Strickland spoke on UFC Fight Pass and stated that Khamzat Chimaev did not deserve a title shot. He maintained that he would fight 'Borz' for the paycheque and the interest he generates in the fight.

He said:

“The only thing I like about Chimaev is that he sells fights. For some reason, people f*****g like him or don’t like him. I don’t know. To me, he’s a f******g paycheck. He sells a lot of fights. People pay to watch but he f*****g hasn’t earned it. He doesn’t f*****g deserve it but here we are. Give it to him. He sells a lot of fights. I’ll go f*****g fight the man for five rounds. But no, he has not earned it. He doesn’t f*****g deserve it and getting a decision with a welterweight off the couch does not f*****g earn it.”

Check out Sean Strickland's full comments below: