Khamzat Chimaev won’t stick around UFC middleweight division much longer

Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t plan to make the UFC middleweight division his home permanently.

Despite only capturing the UFC Middleweight Championship back in August, Chimaev is already talking about moving up to the light heavyweight division. Chimaev hasn’t been shy about targeting reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira.

During an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Chimaev revealed his days as a 185-pounder are numbered (via MMAJunkie).

“I want for sure one more fight, and then I’m going to go one more weight class up,” Chimaev told ESPN MMA. “One more fight, and I move up next fight.”

As far as whether or not he’ll get a showdown with “Poatan,” Chimaev isn’t sold on Pereira being interested in the matchup.

“I don’t think he wants that fight,” Chimaev said. “He knows about it, the UFC knows about it, so I can’t say the things that the UFC says to me. It’s going to be disrespectful to Alex because everyone knows this guy is not my level. He’s a good striker, one of the best strikers. I give the respect to him. He has knockout power and everything, but ask whoever, 99 percent in the world who’s watching the UFC, they’re going to tell you who’s going to win that fight.”

Chimaev’s first title defense hasn’t been made official. The general consensus is that Nassourdine Imavov is the most deserving contender to challenge for the 185-pound gold.

Chimaev turned in a brilliant performance against Dricus du Plessis to win the middleweight gold. “Borz” had nearly 22 minutes of Octagon control on his way to a clear unanimous decision. Many expected du Plessis to create problems for Chimaev with his scrambles, but that simply didn’t happen.

Stick with BJPenn.com for the latest updates on what’s next for Khamzat Chimaev and the UFC middleweight title picture.