UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and No. 3 ranked welterweight Khamzat Chimaev. Photo: Jasmin Frank – USA TODAY Sports och Stefan Romare
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya keeps his eyes on Khamzat Chimaev.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, “The Last Stylebender” is seen reacting to the UFC 279 co-main event between Chimaev and Kevin Holland.
Even though Adesanya gave credit to Chimaev’s dominant performance, he was not impressed by the Swede missing weight.
“Shit was crazy. Shout out to Kevin. Good shit. He held a good account of himself, scrambling, you know, sticking to the position,” Adesanya said in the YouTube video. “But Khamzat was just a step ahead, two steps ahead even. But he missed weight, so he a bitch for that.”
Israel Adesanya fights bitter rival on November 12
The physically big welterweight Khamzat Chimaev might go back up to middleweight sooner than later, however, “The Last Stylebender” already has his next fight cut out for him.
On November 12, he will face former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 at the Madison Square Garden with the middleweight title on the line. The two previously met in kickboxing where the Brazilian Pereira is 2-0, with one win coming by way of knockout.
The massive MSG event also features a women’s strawweight title fight where champion Carla Esparza will take on former champion Zhang Weili. We will also see a lightweight grudge match between top ranked Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier, as well as a women’s flyweight fight between fan favourite Molly McCann and Erin Blanchfield.