Josh Thomson warns Khamzat Chimaev about “The guy you keep away from” Robert Whittaker

Josh Thomson has picked out Robert Whittaker as the man who give Khamzat Chimaev serious trouble at 185lb.

‘Borz’ has become one of the most devastating fighters in the organisation and has showcased his savagery at both welterweight and middleweight. But following on from his highly-publicised weight miss at UFC 279, the Swede teased that his focus has shifted to 185lb.

1 8 5 👊🏼💥 pic.twitter.com/urOK6BPayG

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) September 23, 2022

Chimaev has been gunning for champion Israel Adesanya for months, and having previously threatened to “kill him,” he recently declared that he’d “take off” the Kiwi’s head – so the Brave CF veteran clearly has bad intentions for the division. However, Thompson believes he should steer clear of ‘The Reaper.’ Speaking on his Weighing In podcast, the former Strikeforce champ said,

“Robert Whittaker’s probably the guy you try to keep away from him. I think Robert Whittaker, he’s someone that’s going to really push him.”

Thomson suggested that there are other more favourable opponents for Chimaev to gun down on his way to a title shot without having to go through ‘Bobby Knuckles.’

“I think Whittaker is just all-around, too many weapons. I could be wrong. I think if we see him fight Paulo Costa and has a great performance, we see him fight Marvin Vettori and has a great performance… Probably skip Whittaker and go to whoever’s the champ at the time, whether it’s Pereira or whether it’s Izzy,” explained Thomson.

Costa would appear to be an ideal candidate for Chimaev’s next opponent if he wants a 185lb-er. The Brazilian is a former title contender and his star is increasingly on the rise. He’s currently ranked at #6 in the division, so a win over him would place the 28-year-old in a strong position to attack the belt if he beats him.

There’s also plenty of heat around the match-up following the pair’s altercation at the UFC PI. Costa has continued to stoke to fires during interviews as well as provoking Chimaev by doing lewd things with his hat.

Thus far, the Chechnya-born star has steamrolled through all of his opponents aside from Gilbert Burns. It will be fascinating to see how he deals with the threat of ‘Borrachinha,’ while the build-up to the fight would no doubt create massive interest among the fans.

Who would you like to see Chimaev fight next?