UFC President Dana White weighs in on a potential Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev fight

By Fernando Quiles - May 22, 2023

UFC President Dana White has further commented on a potential showdown between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev.

Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman

Usman, the former UFC Welterweight Champion, has said that he has found his love for fighting again. That much appears evident as he’s been calling for a clash with Khamzat Chimaev. “Borz” has made it clear that he’s up for the challenge, but there is a holdup on the UFC’s end.

Usman has said that he wants the bout to be contested at a catchweight. Dana White has long bashed the concept of catchweight bouts and he told Jim Rome that he’d only want to book the fight if it’s at welterweight or even middleweight.

RELATED: FORMER UFC CHAMPION KAMARU USMAN VOWS TO STOP KHAMZAT CHIMAEV WITHIN FOUR ROUNDS: “WATCH THE TAPES”

Speaking to reporters during the UFC Vegas 73 post-fight press conference, White was noncommittal on Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev (h/t MMAJunkie.com).

“It’s a fight that Usman wants, that’s no secret,” White said. “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 sh*t 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.”

Fight fans have been wondering what’s next for Chimaev. He hasn’t fought since his September 2022 submission win over Kevin Holland. White claimed Chimaev was going through some personal issues, but the number four-ranked UFC welterweight has denied that claim. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for both Usman and Chimaev.