‘I would love to fight for the second belt’: Khamzat Chimaev says Alex Pereira ‘very good matchup for me’

If Khamzat Chimaev had the choice, his next opponent would be Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title.

The new UFC middleweight champion captured the title with a lopsided decision win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in August. Pereira just regained the 205-pound belt with an 80-second TKO win over Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 320 earlier this month in a rematch.

When asked what he would like next if he had his druthers, Chimaev said it would be Pereira — doubling down on his social media callout following Pereira’s most recent win.

“If you ask me, of course I would love to fight for the second belt,” Chimaev said on the Badaev Podcast (h/t Red Corner MMA). “It’s no secret, the guy who’s got the belt at 205 pounds now is a very good matchup for me, except for [if] I should get reckless standing with him.

“They say he has a lot of power, but I’ve never been edged out in that area,” Chimaev said. “He used to fight at 185, too, and then moved up to 205. So I would like to fight at light heavyweight.”

With Chimaev holding the title at 185 pounds, the division opens up to some new and fresh matchups as there’s a slew of contenders waiting in line. Nassourine Imavov handed Caio Borralho his first UFC loss with a unanimous decision victory in the main event of September’s UFC Paris event.

Reinier de Ridder was slated to headline this Saturday’s UFC Vancouver card against surging contender Anthony Hernandez, but Hernandez was scratched due to injury. Now, de Ridder faces Brendan Allen in the new main event, and should the former ONE champion get another octagon victory, he’ll make a case to fight Chimaev next.

While “Borz” would love to face Pereira next, if the UFC puts him in a defense of his newly won title next, Chimaev will say yes — if the price is right, of course.

“But whether they give me Nassourdine, de Ridder, or Hernandez, I don’t care,” Chimaev explained. “Just pay me some good money. … I have always been like that. If you consider yourself the best, you shouldn’t care who you have to fight.”