Khamzat Chimaev and Dana White issue contradictory statements about his post-UFC 328 future
After Khamzat Chimaev's title loss at UFC 328, both he and Dana White commented on his future plans going forward. Unfortunately, they don't appear to see eye to eye. Thus, it begs the question, what will happen to 'Borz' the next time he sets foot inside the octagon?
Khamzat Chimaev's loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 has left many in the MMA world wondering where he goes moving forward. He's no longer the UFC middleweight champion, nor is his record undefeated. That, however, may not factor into 'Borz's' next plans according to Dana White, who commented on his fighter's future.
Khamzat Chimaev's middleweight journey might be short-lived
No shadow loomed larger over UFC 328 than the rumor of Khamzat Chimaev's tough weight cut. With conspiracy theories abound regarding whether 'Borz' had actually missed weight, Dana White was asked about the aforementioned weight cut at the UFC 328 post-fight press conference. In a stunning turn, White claimed that Chimaev is no longer interested in life as a 185-pounder.
"He literally walked up to me after the fight and said, 'I wanna move up. I don't wanna fight in this weight class anymore.'"
When prodded for any information on whether Chimaev would earn an immediate crack at Carlos Ulberg's newly minted light heavyweight title or if he'd need to earn a title fight, White was noncommital.
"Yeah, yeah, I don't know. I'm not even thinking about that, but, you know, him moving up is exciting."
A potential Chimaev move to light heavyweight, though, is neither new nor radical. After beating Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title back at UFC 319, 'Borz' had expressed interest in challenging Alex Pereira for light heavyweight gold. The fight, however, never came to fruition, with Chimaev pausing his light heavyweight championship pursuit to, at least, defend his middleweight belt once. Unfortunately, doing so proved disastrous, as he has now suffered his first-ever professional MMA loss.
Khamzat Chimaev contradicts Dana White's claims
Despite Dana White's assertion that Khamzat Chimaev no longer wants to compete at middleweight, the former 185-pound champion himself recently took to X to say otherwise. He tagged Sean Strickland and called for a rematch.
"Let me know when you are ready."
Let me know when you are ready @SStricklandMMA
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) May 11, 2026
Even if Chimaev intends to disprove the rumors of his imminent light heavyweight move, it remains to be seen whether he'll earn an immediate rematch against Strickland. Although their UFC 328 clash was competitive, Chimaev was not a long-reigning champion, which is usually a prerequisite for an immediate title rematch. In fact, Chimaev failed to successfully defend his title at all.
So, with zero title defenses under his belt, he may have some work to do to earn a rematch. Especially after the controversy with his latest weight cut.
