Dricus du Plessis<\/a> via unanimous decision in August of last year, and he lost it by way of split decision to Sean Strickland in May of this year. The retired MMA star explained:\u00a0<\/p>\n“How many fights has he (Khamzat Chimaev) had at middleweight? Because he campaigned mainly at welterweight… There wasn’t too many fights at 185 (pounds).”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Bisping seemingly acknowledged that Chimaev is indeed a force to be reckoned with and notably boasts a dominant submission victory against middleweight great Robert Whittaker as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s noteworthy that Chimaev has competed in 16 pro mixed martial arts matchups so far. Eight of those have been middleweight matches, five came at welterweight, and three were contested at catchweights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Khamzat Chimaev’s standing in the UFC middleweight division below (*comments at the 1:02:43-minute mark of the video below):\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Khamzat Chimaev’s quest to reclaim UFC gold, RAF Abu Dhabi clash with Colby Covington<\/p>\n
Khamzat Chimaev, ever since being dethroned by Sean Strickland, has been adamant about wanting an immediate title rematch. However, his quest to recapture the UFC middleweight championship hit a roadblock, as the UFC seems keen on booking Strickland to defend the middleweight belt in a rematch against Nassourdine Imavov next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chimaev, intriguingly, had recently signaled that he’d take a few months’ break from MMA competition if he isn’t booked for a fight in the latter part of this year. In the meantime, he’s continuing his freestyle wrestling pursuits under the Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling banner.<\/p>\n
The UAE-based Chechen athlete is scheduled to face ex-interim UFC welterweight champion and reigning RAF cruiserweight crossover titleholder Colby Covington. Their RAF title clash will headline RAF Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi on November 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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