MOSCOW, September 25 Chechen mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter origin Khamzat Chimaev said that he was ready to fight with American Sean Strickland after the fight with Brazilian Paulo Costa.
In his next fight, 29-year-old Chimaev will meet Costa on October 21 at the 294th event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in Abu Dhabi. Strickland previously defeated New Zealand's Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight title in September.
«»Now is my time. I'll smash this guy (Costa) first, and then I'll go after Izzy (Adesanya) or Strickland. I'm coming for you, Strickland! He's constantly working, this guy is constantly in the gym, now he has has a belt (championship). He has a great team and a great coach, I was there (in his gym) and trained with him, he deserved that belt. Strickland is very active and has fought a lot of people. I don't understand what these guys are waiting for ( UFC), give me this chance. They are hiding this belt from me. In any case, as I said, when I crush everyone, they will have to give me the belt,» Chimaev said in a video published on his YouTube channel.
Chimaev is an undefeated fighter with 12 fights won. Earlier it became known that he would stop representing Sweden and begin performing under the flag of the UAE. On Sunday, Chimaev said that he now represents the Chechen team Akhmat. The 32-year-old Strickland has 28 wins and five losses.