Alex Pereira has accsused Khamzat Chimaev of "running" from 170lb after teasing a switch to middleweight.
Chimaev is considered one of the UFC's fastest rising prospects on the roster, which has seen him solidify his status as a leading contender at 170lb with six consecutive wins. However for his last fight, the Chechen star faced a significant struggle to cut down to the weight for his clash with Nate Diaz and missed his target forcing late replacement Kevin Holland to step in.
After ousting Holland, questions were asked of Chimaev's future at 170lb which saw him call out the winner of Pereira's title-winning clash with Adesanya in December. With the pair having exchanged verbal barbs on social media over a short-notice attempt at arranging a showdown, it appeared a new rivalry had escalated from Chimaev's uncertain future.
And 'Poatan' has since upped the stakes suggesting that his new rival was uninterested when proposed the pair move up to light heavyweight. He (Chimaev) mentioned a title defence," Pereira said during an interview with Inside Fighting when addressing a potential contest with Chimaev. "But it was right after my last fight, so I think it was kind of impossible.
"I called him out for a light heavyweight title fight, but I wasn’t in a position to do either. I called him out anyway just to see if he was up to it, I knew he didn’t want the fight. A little while ago, he talked about fighting at middleweight and also at light heavyweight. So he’s in the lower weight class [170lb].
"But in his weight class, when he’s maybe already the next title challenger, it’s kind of like there are no plans for him to fight. He doesn’t want to, because if he loses, like everyone can, if he loses in his own weight class, it ends all the noise he’s making. So he’s running from his own weight class because he’s the next title challenger.”
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Chimaev will likely have a lengthy wait to discover his fate with a trilogy between 170lb champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman set to delay his title shot for now. This may have fronted the Swedish star's potential plan to target a shot at a new weight class given the problematic queue he could face.
However Brazilian star Glover Texeira has warned he will have to join the queue at 185lb if he is to go toe-to-toe with Pereira in the future. I don't know, he [Khamzat Chimaev] can't miss weight in one division and then come back and fight for the title right away," Texeira said in an interview with Helen Yee when discussing potential challenges to Pereira's new crown.
"He's got to work his way up there. The talk helps to get there, but the way I see it, go there and do the work man. You cannot come from 170 and jump in. He's not the champ at 170 or anything."
