UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira has accused Khamzat Chimaev of turning down a light-heavyweight fight with him in Brazil in January.
The 185lb title holder won his belt from Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 in New York City earlier this month after a gruelling cut to make the middleweight limit. And while he wasn't keen to make such a cut so soon after his five-round war with Adesanya, he was willing to allow Chimaev the chance to fight him with neither man making any sort of weight cut.
Pereira is one of the quickest fighters ever to win UFC gold, having had just eight MMA fights in his life and four in the UFC. And while he was willing to make a fast turnaround to fight for a fourth time within 12 months, he claims that Chimaev wasn't keen and opted against taking the fight.
