Khamzat Chimaev has vowed to make "light work" of Israel Adesanya after the middleweight champion's win at UFC 271.
Adesanya made the fourth defence of his 185-pound title by outpointing Robert Whittaker in their rematch on Saturday night.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander avoided the threat of Whittaker's takedown for most of the fight and picked him apart on the feet with his superior striking skills.
Adesanya outlanded Whittaker in every round of the fight and dropped him in the first with a hard left straight as the judges saw it 47-47 twice and 49-46.
Whittaker believed he did enough to win the fight but Adesanya dismissed his claim by stating his rival needed to "take the belt" rather than "doing enough".
No.11 ranked welterweight Chimaev - who has competed twice at 185-pounds in the UFC - wasn't impressed by Adesanya's performance and backed himself to finish the champion in one round.
"[Israel Adesanya] easy money for me, 0 wrestling. 1 round I’m gonna kill him," Chimaev wrote to the undisputed middleweight champion on Twitter.
When asked about the Russian's comments at the post-fight press conference, Adesanya gave a nonchalant reply and shrugged off the call out.
Chimaev has verbally agreed to fight former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns next in the biggest test of his UFC career to date.
UFC 273 on April 9 is a discussed date for the top matchup at 170-pounds, although the fight is yet to be finalised by the promotion.
Rising star Chimaev has made a surging journey in the welterweight division since debuting for the UFC two years ago and is ranked just outside the top ten after two wins in the weight class.
Who wins - Israel Adesanya or Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
The 27-year-old only started training MMA in 2016 and has absorbed just one significant strike in his four UFC fights, stopping all of his opponents so far in one-sided affairs.
Chimaev is open to switching between middleweight and welterweight in the UFC and has also vowed to dethrone current 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman.
Uninterested in Chimaev's comments, Adesanya is focusing on defending his title for a fifth time 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.
UFC boss Dana White confirmed that Cannonier - who called for a title fight after his win - would be next in line for 'The Last Stylbender'.
