Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight — and wants to fight NOW.
UFC CEO Dana White claims matchmakers are contractually obligated to offer each combatant, including Chimaev, no less than three fights per year. Since Chimaev (15-1) has already competed once in 2026, a UFC 328 title loss to Sean Strickland, he’s still got two more fights in the can before year’s end.
Don’t worry, “Borz” is among many fighters “in conversations to fight.”
“He wants to fight me? Oh, he just wants to fight,” White said during the
“Contender Series” press conference on Tuesday night. “I didn’t see [his tweet]. He’s always in conversations to fight — the whole roster is. In a perfect world, everybody fights three times a year.”
Fans on social media were not impressed by the non-answer.
The only time Chimaev, now 32, was able to register three fights per year under the UFC banner was back in 2020 — all within two months. Then came a series of mysterious illnesses, absences, and weight struggles and it seems like the former welterweight is no longer the aura-farming fighter that once dazzled impressionable MMA fans.
That said, Chimaev vs. Strickland 2 is still on the table for late 2026.
