Khamzat Chimaev wants immediate UFC title rematch

Chimaev questions judges after UFC 328 title loss

UFC star Khamzat Chimaev publicly criticized the judges following his loss at UFC 328 to Sean Strickland, where he lost his UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland. Although it was a very exciting bout, and there’s no arguing that, most people, including the judges, felt that Sean Strickland did enough that night to defeat the titleholder. But it is precisely this decision that he is now criticizing. Khamzat Chimaev is, of course, eager to return to the octagon quickly, and preferably right away in a title bout. That’s why it makes sense for him to downplay his opponent’s performance and blame the judges, because that stirs up more controversy. However, he also believes he deserves an immediate rematch without having to fight another opponent first. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he said:

“(Health) updates? I don’t have any updates. I’m just training and want to fight. It’s not so many people that want to fight. We’ll see what happens. I didn’t see Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell). Maybe when I see, I’ll have something It would be good to take the winner (Strickland vs next challenger) because I want to go for the belt. I’m the No. 1 contender. I didn’t lose the match that people think. Like, I've never seen a guy win a fight just running backwards and doing just jab, jab. The judges, some judges, before they said, ‘Damage, damage,’ and he didn’t get any damage from that. After, I was in the gym. So, I don’t know what they were watching there, you know? Next time, maybe gonna do marathon. You can with the fight there as well”

he said.

Khamzat Chimaev also needs to be careful to ensure he continues to be taken seriously. By now, he’s basically calling for a title shot once a week, which could obviously hurt his chances. Maybe he should wait it out for now and talk to the UFC, since it should be clear that the UFC is also interested in setting him up for a title fight. But what do you think about the fact that he himself believes he doesn’t need another fight to solidify his position for a title shot?

I understand his approach, but I’d still think it would be good if he had one more fight. I think a matchup against Dricus Du Plessis would be a good idea. What do you think?