Israel Adesanya interested in Khamzat Chimaev clash: 'That guy's really good, that made me wanna fight him'

12/21/2024 12:52 PM

Turning heads with his stunning submission win at UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev appears to have garnered the attention of ex-champion, Israel Adesanya — who admits he was “surprised” by his dominant win over common-opponent, Robert Whittaker, and expressed a willingness to fight him soon.

Booked to make his own return to action, former two-time undisputed middleweight gold holder, Adesanya will headline UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia at the beginning of February, matching with streaking contender, Nassourdine Imavov in a high-stakes clash in a bid to prevent a three-fight losing run.

As for Chimaev, the Chechen finisher rubber-stamped his claim to a title fight in his next outing at UFC 308 two months ago, laying easy waste to the above-mentioned, Whittaker with a stunning face crank submission win in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Israel Adesanya eyes fight with Khamzat Chimaev soon

Missing out on a title fight with the incumbent, Dricus du Plessis for the time being, Chimaev will lay in wait as former training partner, Sean Strickland rematches the Pretoria native at UFC 312 in February to boot, however, a monstrous fight with Adesanya is certainly viable according to the City Kickboxing star.

“I was surprised by the way Khamzat (Chimaev) ran through Rob (Whittaker) — crazy, that was like, ‘Wow’,” Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “That made me wanna fight him. I was like, ‘Okay, sh*t, this guy is really, really good.’ Yeah.”