Daniel Cormier believes Khamzat Chimaev should fight for the title

• UFC

Khamzat Chimaev finally makes his return against Paulo Costa on 21st October under the UFC 294 card; this match up was successful in putting a smile on all UFC fans faces. Chimaev called out way too many people during the time he took off fighting, and very recently, he called out Leon Edwards.

Which shows that his intentions are pretty clear, he wants the UFC belts under his possession, and it will be fascinating to see how soon he can get a title shot from here. Daniel Cormier, like many, strongly believes that Chimaev is a worthy opponent for a title fight and wants to see him fight for the title if he’s successful in beating Paulo Costa.

Daniel Cormier on Khamzat Chimaev

Daniel Cormier, on his YouTube channel, spoke about Khamzat Chimaev’s inactivity and explained how he is on the level to fight Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight belt. “I don’t understand why Khamzat Chimaev has not fought again since he fought Kevin Holland,” Cormier said, as quoted by mmajunkie.usatoday.com. “There’s more to this story than we know.

Maybe I’ll do some digging to try and uncover it, but he’s fighting against Paulo Costa. “If he beats Paulo Costa, Khamzat Chimaev will have earned himself a title fight at 185 pounds. And I don’t think anyone can disagree with that.

Cormier further said: I don’t believe that beating Gilbert Burns, going up, and now beating Paulo Costa doesn’t get you a championship opportunity. It makes you the No. 1 contender between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.

He won a very competitive fight against Gilbert Burns, but Gilbert Burns’ willingness to stand in the fire and fight him is what made it a more competitive fight. Now he’s got a bigger guy in Paulo Costa who’s willing to do the same thing”.