Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t much care who stands across from him with a UFC belt on the line. He cares about the check.
Asked about fighting Nassourdine Imavov for the middleweight title, Chimaev said he’d have no problem with it. Then he summed up his entire matchmaking philosophy in four words. “Whatever gives the money,” he said, in a clip MMA Fighting posted on X on Thursday.
That’s as straight an answer as you’ll get during fight week, and I’ll take it over 20 minutes of a guy promising to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him.
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Chimaev (15-1) is a former UFC middleweight champion and sits No. 3 in the Knockout Daily middleweight rankings. His last MMA fight was on May 9. He has spent the months since on the wrestling mat. He signed with Real American Freestyle in April, then pinned Dillon Danis in 44 seconds at RAF 10 in June, the fastest pin in RAF history. He pinned Tyron Woodley in the first round at RAF Moscow on Sept. 5 and beat Gilbert Burns by technical fall at RAF 13 on Sept. 18.
Imavov (17-4) is No. 2 in our rankings and has won five straight. The run covers Roman Dolidze, Jared Cannonier and Brendan Allen, plus a second-round TKO of Israel Adesanya in February 2025 and a unanimous decision over Caio Borralho in September 2025. The Borralho fight was his last one, more than a year ago. A 6-foot-3 French boxer with that résumé has every right to be impatient.
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Stylistically it’s a fun one on paper. Imavov wants range. Chimaev has never been interested in giving anybody range.
The Imavov comment landed on a busy Thursday for Chimaev. The RAF 14 press conference in Las Vegas turned into a brawl involving Chimaev, Arman Tsarukyan, Danis and members of their teams. MMA Fighting reported that Chimaev and Tsarukyan attacked Danis. Ariel Helwani wrote on X that one security guard was bleeding and called it an “Ugly scene.” Chimaev also said Colby Covington would need an ambulance after their wrestling match at RAF Abu Dhabi.
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Nothing in the clip points to a UFC booking yet. Chimaev’s next stop is the RAF 14 co-main event against Robbie Lawler on Friday, Oct. 23. After that, he has already told the UFC his asking price for Imavov.
