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Khamzat Chimaev recently made a cryptic tweet that many fans believe is an announcement about a permanent move to the middleweight division. Whether that's the case or 'Borz' is simply declaring that his next bout will be at 185 lbs remains to be seen.
Regardless, it has left many fans disappointed. The possibility of Khamzat Chimaev fighting permanently at middleweight robs them of seeing him face top-level welterweights who could test his wrestling. Bouts with Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington will be out of the window if 'Borz' moves up permanently to 185lbs. However, if he defeats reigning middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman might move up to dethrone him. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has publicly stated many times that he won't fight a "fellow African" in Adesanya to become double-champ.
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Shavkat Rakhmonov is another undefeated welterweight from the same geographical region. Comparisons between the two were immediately drawn upon their emergence in the UFC.
Even if Khamzat Chimaev permanently moves to middleweight, a future bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov is still on the table. In fact, such a bout will likely be a superfight in a few years, and this list covers 5 reasons why that is the case.
#5. Both Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov are undefeated
It is not often that the UFC gets to feature fights between two undefeated fighters. Whenever the promotion does book two undefeated phenoms for a clash inside the octagon, both fighters are typically unknown and untested. The reasoning behind the UFC's decision to do so is to maximize the number of potential future contenders.
This is no longer the case with Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov. Both men are in the official rankings of their division. Furthermore, both mixed martial artists are fiercely dominant. The Chechen sensation's record sits at 12-0, while his Kazakh counterpart enjoys a 16-0 record. The two have wins over top-ranked competitors.
Khamzat Chimaev defeated Gilbert Burns in a razor-thin split-decision. Meanwhile, Shavkat Rakhmonov recently defeated Neil Magny, knocking his foe off the top 10 rankings.
The level of intrigue for a potential bout between two dominant and undefeated fighters who have sustained little damage throughout their careers will be as thick as the blood they spill inside the cage.
Not since Ronda Rousey's bout with Sara McMann have two undefeated phenoms clashed at the height of their careers. If the two remain undefeated and win their next few subsequent bouts, a potential matchup between them will be like no other.
#4. Both fighters are skilled wrestlers and strikers
Rarely do two fighters meet without one of them possessing decidedly lesser skills than their opponent in an aspect of MMA. In most matchups, a fighter is either a better striker or grappler compared to their opponent. It is not often that two foes possess comparable skills in the grappling and striking departments.
Whenever Khamzat Chimaev faces an opponent who might trouble his striking, he can simply opt to outwrestle them. Similarly, whenever an opponent might trouble his wrestling, he can opt to outstrike them. The same is true for Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Such matchups are the most intriguing. If either man wins, it won't be because they were decidedly better wrestlers or strikers. Instead, one of them will emerge victorious simply because they were the better mixed martial artist.
The level of intrigue will be significant. It'll be like when Anderson Silva faced Lyoto Machida to determine the greatest counter-striker of yesteryear. Similarly, fans were interested in seeing a bout between Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier due to both men's well-rounded skill-sets.
#3. Both fighters will be in their physical primes
Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov are close in terms of age. The undefeated Chechen sensation is only 28 years old, while the unbeaten Kazakh phenom is 27 years old. Not only are both men of similar ages, their respective rises in the UFC coincide.
The two mixed martial artists are likely already good enough to be championship contenders. However, there's still ample time for them to improve as fighters. More often than not, fighters don't necessarily coincide in terms of their physical primes. Instead, what is typical is one fighter being in their prime while their foe is either too young or past their prime.
Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov will be in a unique position. Not only are they close in age, both men have also remained relatively injury-free. By the time they potentially cross swords in the future, the two will be at the peak of their athletic powers.
#2. There is an easy narrative to build upon
As much as MMA is about the respective skill-sets of two different fighters, the entertainment aspect of the sport impacts the promotional side of things. Fighters are expected to find ways of generating interest in bouts. On occasion, this manifests as trash talk or the creation of a faux feud.
Other times, the UFC harnesses genuine animosity between the two fighters for promotional purposes. Unfortunately for Dana White and his colleagues in upper management, there is no such animosity between Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov. Yet, there is still a narrative for the promotion to rely on.
If both men remain undefeated and dominant, the UFC could pen a narrative surrounding the uncommon nature of the two men and how rare it is for two fighters of their ilk to arise in the same generation. Furthermore, their contrasting personalities can be highlighted.
'Borz' has a loud personality. He is prone to trash talking and confrontational outbursts. Meanwhile, 'The Nomad' is a quieter and more subdued presence, he even drew comparisons to Georges St-Pierre over his laid back nature.
Lastly, if both men face each other, it will undoubtedly be a headline bout and the first of its kind in the UFC between two Muslim fighters.
Much was made about Khabib Nurmagomedov being the first Muslim champion in UFC history. Should Shavkat Rakhmonov and Khamzat Chimaev headline a PPV together, it would be the first time that two Muslims have been given the privilege of doing so by the promotion.
#1. There is a chance it will be a champion vs. champion affair
Shavkat Rakhmonov is a potential future champion in the welterweight division. He is a tall and rangy striker who uses his distance management to set the pace for every matchup he takes part in. By standing just beyond his opponent's kicking range, he causes everyone he faces to overextend on their strikes, while his superior length and height enable him to pick his foes apart from a distance.
His style renders the threat of his feints even more pronounced as opponents become convinced that they must find a way inside lest he neutralize them from the outside. Thus, his opponents overreact to feints and give 'The Nomad' the reads that he wants. Upon doing so, he dupes his opponents into running into devastating counter-strikes informed by their reactions to his feints.
Opponents must over-shoot for takedowns, making it harder to take Rakhmonov down. That is a fact which will prove valuable for 'The Nomad' in a division full of elite wrestlers. Not only does Rakhmonov have youth and skill on his side, but he also has size.
He stands at 6 feet 1 inch tall with a 76-inch reach. If he captures welterweight gold, he'll likely challenge for the middleweight title as he fills out his large frame. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev is a large welterweight himself. At 6 feet 2 inches tall with a 75-inch reach, his frame is suited for middleweight.
Due to the breadth of his wrestling skills, which involves the use of round kicks and front kicks to create openings for his takedowns, he'll be a force to be reckoned with at middleweight. The 185 lbs weight class is devoid of top-level wrestlers outside of Derek Brunson.
By causing his opponents to straighten their posture due to his front kicks, 'Borz' narrows his foe's base. With their feet too close together, his opponent's balance and footing are too poor to defend his double-leg takedowns by widening their base or scooting their hips away.
Similarly, when Chimaev throws round kicks to the body to trick opponents into squaring their hips to counter him whenever he lifts his leg to fake the kick, Khamzat Chimaev ducks right under his foe's punch to shoot in on their overexposed hips as they load up.
Khamzat Chimaev can capture middleweight gold, it's a division with almost no elite wrestlers. If both he and Rakhmonov become champions, a future champion vs. champion bout will be mouth-watering.
