Khamzat Chimaev is happy to take shots at Alex Pereira as he awaits his next booking.
At the moment, neither of the reigning UFC champions are set to compete, with Chimaev still waiting for his first title
challenger after winning the middleweight belt at UFC 319 in August, and Pereira flirting with a jump to heavyweight after reclaiming the light heavyweight championship at UFC 320 in October. It’s no secret the two aren’t fond of one another, though it’s Chimaev who has done more of the lobbying to make a fight happen at 205 pounds.
That behavior continued Friday with Chimaev taking to social media to antagonize Pereira and his team.
Chimaev began by putting his undefeated record up against Pereira’s, which includes a pair of UFC losses to Magomed Ankalaev and Israel Adesanya. However, those names are also two of Pereira’s greatest triumphs as “Poatan” finished Adesanya in their first MMA fight to win his first UFC title, and knocked out Ankalaev in 80 seconds in their lightweight championship rematch.
The unbeaten Chimaev is 15-0 as a pro and 9-0 in the UFC, with his dominant run capped off by a lopsided decision win over middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
In his tweets, Chimaev took aim at not only Pereira, but Pereira’s close friend and mentor Glover Teixeira, by including a photo of Teixeira being submitted by Jiri Prochazka.
Responding to a fan touting Pereira’s résumé, Chimaev replied he can become a two-division champion as well if Pereira “stops running.”
Pereira and Chimaev have both angled to compete at June’s UFC White House, so until bouts begin to be announced for that historic event, this beef is unlikely to be pushed aside anytime soon.
