Top UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev has taken aim at former champion Kamaru Usman, declaring that he will "squeeze his head off" when the pair meet.
Both men are currently on the lookout for their next challenge, with Usman aiming to come back from his two title fight losses to Leon Edwards over the past year. Meanwhile, Chimaev hasn't fought since a September submission of Kevin Holland in a hastily arranged bout at UFC 279 after his meeting with Nate Diaz was cancelled.
Chimaev has been pushing for a return to the cage of late, but appears to be on ice until the promotions return to the Middle East in October. And it is unclear if he will make another effort at getting down to welterweight after missing the 171lb limit by over half-a-stone in September.
“I want to say to Usman, I am ready, just sign the contract,” Chimaev said in a YouTube video. “Let’s fight. Let’s make money. You want the money, you want the money, let’s go. I’m going to squeeze your head off... Let’s go, let’s fight. The weight classes, if you feel the best, you don’t need to speak about weight class. I feel the best, for me it doesn’t matter, I cut on fight night - all weight classes. I’m the king.”
Chimaev also explained that his absence has been due to the promotion making a return to Abu Dhabi, where he is a massive fan favourite, in October. It remains to be seen what Usman's plans are after his second loss to Edwards back in March, a Majority Decision at London's O2 Arena.
“UFC told us we have a fight in Abu Dhabi, so that’s what I’m waiting for,” Chimaev said of his UFC 294 fight after moving to Dubai earlier this year. “I’m already here in Dubai, living here, training camp, everything is good, so I’ve been in shape a long time ago.
"I’ve been in Thailand training camp, I’ve been here training camp, I’ve been in Sweden training, so just waiting for the opponent and the contract, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Do you want to see Khamzat Chimaev fight Kamaru Usman in Abu Dhabi? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
At Saturday night's post-fight press conference following Mackenzie Dern vs Angela Hill, promotional boss Dana White gave an update on the proposed bout, telling media: “It’s a fight that Usman wants, that’s no secret. Usman literally came to the office to lobby for that fight.
"I told him I love him. Usman is one of the best guys we’ve ever worked with. I love working with the guy. Look at all the things he’s accomplished - I don’t do catchweights, don’t do it, so, you know how Khamzat is. If you talk s*** to Khamzat, he’s going to go right at it with you and doesn’t care who he fights and all that stuff.
"I don’t know. Obviously, we’ve been making a lot of announcements lately, we haven’t made that announcement yet because we don’t have the fight done yet. But, we’re working on stuff for Khamzat.”
