Rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has been labelled the "worst match-up" for middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Chimaev is one of the UFC's hottest prospects despite just winning four fights in the promotion since his debut in 2020.
The 27-year-old only started training MMA in 2016 and has taken just one significant strike so far in the UFC, stopping all of his opponents in one-sided fights.
Chimaev has switched between 170-pounds and 185-pounds in the UFC and is linked to fight No.2 ranked welterweight Gilbert Burns in April.
And now-retired UFC title challenger Kenny Florian thinks Chimaev's power and wrestling make him the worst opponent for Adesanya.
"Dude, [Khamzat] is the guy with skills. He's the guy with the skills based on what we have seen so far," Florian said on ' The Anik & Florian Podcast '.
"Not only does it seem like he has some good power on the feet but of course, what stands out most is that dominant wrestling style.
"That is absolutely a fight that will be interesting in the future. [Khamzat] still needs more experience to make sure that's the case but yeah, based on what I've seen he just might be the worst matchup for Adesanya."
Chimaev has two knockout and two submission wins so far in the UFC, with his most recent victory coming against Li Jingliang at UFC 267.
The Russian amassed six wins in 18 months before joining the promotion, all of which came by stoppage, with most of those taking place for the Middle Eastern promotion Brave CF.
Chimaev recently called out Adesanya after he made the fourth defence of his middleweight title at UFC 271 last weekend by outpointing Robert Whittaker in their rematch.
"[Israel Adesanya] easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him," Chimaev wrote to the middleweight champion on Twitter.
Will Khamzat Chimaev go on to beat Israel Adesanya? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
When asked about Chimaev's comments at the post-fight press conference, Adesanya gave a one-word reply and shrugged off the call out.
Adesanya will not be focusing on Chimaev for now as 'The Last Stylebender' is targeting the fifth defence of his title against Jared Cannonier in June.
Cannonier also picked up a win at UFC 271, extending his unbeaten run to two fights after knocking out fellow top contender Derek Brunson.
Chimaev is unranked at middleweight and hasn't fought at the weight class since knocking out Gerald Meerschaert in 17-seconds in September 2020.
'Borz' set a UFC record in 2020 for the fastest consecutive wins and fastest three-fight winning streak in modern UFC history, but then faced a year away from the cage after a long battle with Covid-19.
