Khamzat Chimaev has responded to Nassourdine Imavov’s victory at UFC Paris.
Imavov had a massive opportunity to get one step closer to his first UFC middleweight title shot. He turned in a brilliant effort in the standup throughout five rounds to defeat Caio Borralho inside Accor Arena. “The Sniper” isn’t guaranteed the next crack at Chimaev, as an Oct. 18 clash between Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez could determine the next middleweight contender depending on the outcome.
Chimaev was paying close attention to Imavov’s performance, and he chimed in on social media.
Good fight!
Assalamu Alaykum 🫡😁
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) September 6, 2025
“Good fight! Assalamu Alaykum”
Imavov believes he sealed the deal for the next UFC middleweight title challenger after his victory over Borralho.
“People said that against Adesanya, he was the best striker in the world and I couldn’t fight with him on the feet, but I knocked him out,” Imavov said during the UFC Paris post-fight presser. “This guy, Caio – I didn’t have to fight against him, but I did it. He was coming from 10 years in a row of victories, 16 straight victories, seven in a row in the UFC, and I won every round. Once again, I proved I’m the best. For me, there’s no discussion that I’m going to fight for the belt.”
Chimaev captured the UFC Middleweight Championship with a dominant grappling performance over Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev secured nearly 22 minutes of control time on his way to a unanimous decision victory to close out UFC 319.
Now, “Borz” will wait to see the result of “RDR” vs. “Fluffy,” and the UFC brass will then make a decision on the next 185-pound title fight. Chimaev has yet to be defeated in his pro MMA career and many wonder if there’s any other middleweight who will have an answer for him. Imavov believes he can dethrone Chimaev, and it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll get the first crack at the gold.