It appears the UFC wants Khamzat Chimaev to stay at welterweight.
In an interview with The MacLife, Dana White said the promotion has a matchup in mind: Chimaev vs. Colby Covington on the same card as the projected trilogy bout between welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, which is being worked on for March in London.
Chimaev missed the welterweight mark by 7.5 pounds in his most recent outing at UFC 279. The big weight miss resulted in an opponent switch. He went from Nate Diaz to Kevin Holland, then ran through Holland with a first-round submission.
This isn’t the first time White wanted to book Covington against Chimaev. Prior to Chimaev’s fight with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, White was looking to match up Chimaev and Covington if “Borz” was victorious. Chimaev won the fight, but the matchup never materialized.
Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) hasn’t competed since a lopsided decision win over ex-teammate Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March. Things turned ugly after the fight, when Masvidal allegedly assaulted Covington outside a Miami Beach restaurant just weeks later. Masvidal was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief.
