Who is Khamzat Chimaev's next opponent? Take a look at the Chechen fighter's dominant UFC run

After defeating Kevin Holland last September, Khamzat Chimaev began lobbying for the UFC to give him his next opponent at the earliest. Despite the Chechen-born Swedish fighter's eagerness to fight again soon, the UFC is yet to announce his comeback date and opponent.

Presently, the 28-year-old Chimaev holds the No. 3 spot in the UFC's official welterweight rankings. However, the fact remains that he missed weight for his scheduled welterweight (170-pound) matchup against Nate Diaz last September, resulting in him being rescheduled to face Holland in a 180-pound catchweight matchup instead.

On that note, there's been widespread speculation that Chimaev could return to the middleweight (185-pound) division for his next fight rather than sticking around at welterweight.

He's issued multiple call-outs to former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington at welterweight. Also, in a recent Instagram post, 'Borz' suggested that he'd like to face former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker next. Many believe that if the Chimaev-Whittaker matchup does materialize, it'll be contested at middleweight.

Furthermore, speaking to Red Corner MMA before his aforementioned Instagram post, Khamzat Chimaev indicated that he'll likely fight Robert Whittaker next. 'The Reaper' subsequently responded and is seemingly open to a possible fight against Chimaev.

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A closer look at Khamzat Chimaev's dominant UFC run

Having successfully navigated the waters of amateur wrestling in Russia and later in Sweden for several years, Khamzat Chimaev made his professional MMA debut in May 2018. The grappling phenom amassed a 6-0 record before making his UFC debut in a middleweight bout against John Phillips on July 16th, 2020.

Chimaev defeated Phillips via second-round submission. He then beat Rhys McKee via first-round TKO in a welterweight bout on July 26th, just 10 days after his first UFC fight. 'Borz' holds the record for the fastest turnaround between two consecutive fights in the UFC's modern era.

Following that, Chimaev faced veteran UFC fighter Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight bout in September 2020 and won via first-round KO just 17 seconds into the fight.

The trio of victories was followed by a challenging phase for Khamzat Chimaev, as he engaged in a lengthy battle against COVID-19 and went as far as claiming that he was retiring from MMA. Thankfully, he eventually recovered.

'Borz' returned to dominantly beat Li Jingliang via first-round submission in October 2021 and narrowly edged past Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision in April 2022, both in welterweight matchups.

Moreover, 'Borz' is coming off a spectacular first-round submission win over Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight bout in September 2022. The undefeated Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has consistently maintained that he'd like to capture UFC titles at welterweight, middleweight, and potentially even in the light heavyweight (205-pound) division.