- Khamzat Chimaev has been calling out Robert Whittaker and claimed that Paulo Costa ducked him
- “The Reaper” said he wants to fight soon and will be down for a showdown with “Borz”
After their intense run-in at UFC PI last year, Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa were heavily rumored to face each other inside the Octagon. But now that the smoke has settled, “Borz” said Costa ducked him and his focus is now on Robert Whittaker.
Good guy vs. Bad guy
Chimaev is known for trading insults with his opponents prior and sometimes even after the fight. Whittaker, meanwhile, is a complete opposite. Nevertheless, “Borz” thinks that a fight with “The Reapear” will still be “fun.”
“I think I will fight Robert Whittaker,” Chimaev told Red Corner MMA. “He’s got no opponent. Paulo Costa ran away after talking that much about me and Robert. So, I will fight Whittaker. I want this fight although I like him as a human being. He is a solid guy, doesn’t talk trash, doesn’t cross any lines… We are going to have fun at the press conference and fight each other.”
Whittaker is cool with it
In a recent talk with Submission Radio, Whittaker learned about Chimaev’s call outs for the first time. The former middleweight champion said he wants to fight in June as much as possible and if the UFC will offer him a showdown with “Borz” this time, he’ll be down for sure.
“Cool. Let’s do it. Whatever,” Whittaker said of a potential fight with Chimaev. “If it’s a fight that get presented to that is what it is. I think it’d be a good fight. I think it’d be a hard fight. I think he’s phenomenal fighter. I think he has a lot strengths, I think I have a lot of strengths, I think I’m a hard fight for him you know just the same you know. And I’m quite good with my hands, can stuff a lot of takedowns. I’m hard to hold down. I’m squirmy, you see. Yeah, it’ll be an interesting fight. That’ll be a showstopper for sure. I’m sure it’ll get a lot of people interested and excited.
“The reason why it would be a fight that’s worth making is because he’s riding the hype train, and because UFC want to bring this guy, who’s the boogeyman to a lot of guys, up in the rankings. They want him to fight me at the top of the chain so that it opens the door to whoever wins, and then jump behind. That’s the only reason it makes sense.”
It can be recalled that Whittaker was left dismayed after his fight with Costa set for UFC 284 got canceled. Whittaker said the Chimaev fight was never offered to him but he’s looking to be back in action sooner rather than later.
Whittaker wants to keep his rhythm going and secure another big win after beating Marvin Vettori in his last fight. Chimaev, meanwhile, seems to be keen on fighting the biggest names in the middleweight division at the moment but is still the No. 3 welterweight contender in the world.
