Usman believes Khamzat
Chimaev might have outgrown his current weight class.
Chimaev dominantly won the middleweight title against Dricus Du
Plessis at
UFC 319 in August 2025. While Chimaev is yet to defend his
title, he is now calling for a light heavyweight title shot against
Alex
Pereira. Usman believes Chimaev’s call for a light heavyweight
title shot might not be fueled just by double championship
aspirations. Usman believes “Borz” is struggling to cut down to
middleweight. Considering Chimaev’s size, “The Nigerian Nightmare”
finds it ridiculous that the undefeated Chechen-born used to cut
down to welterweight at one point. Usman also conjectures that
Chimaev wouldn’t mind opening the door at middleweight for Nassourdine
Imavov by moving up to light heavyweight.
Too Big for Middleweight?
“For Khamzat
Chimaev to continue to call [Pereira] out, I think Khamzat
potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s
like, ‘Let me go to a new division where I can make the weight and
I can capture that,’” Usman said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast.
“Because there’s all types of rumors coming out saying he is 230
pounds. Khamzat is a big guy. Khamzat’s always been the big guy.
The fact that Khamzat was making 170 pounds is just ridiculous as
Anthony
Johnson when he was making 170 pounds… And if he goes up there
and gets that title, that opens the door for another Russian,
Nassourdine
Imavov, to get that middleweight title.”
Chimaev (15-0) had multiple weight misses at welterweight and was
forced to permanently move up to middleweight after missing weight
by a whopping 7.5 lbs in 2022. While Imavov (17-4) is arguably the
most deserving middleweight contender, he and Chimaev don’t seem
too keen on fighting each other. They share deep roots, as Imavov
was born in Dagestan and Chimaev was born in Chechnya. Imavov
recently revealed that his mother advised him against fighting a
“brother” in Chimaev.
Kamaru
Usman believes Khamzat is struggling with the weight cut,
that’s why he wants to move up 👀😲“For Khamzat
Chimaev to continue to call Pereira out, I think Khamzat
potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s
like, ‘Let me go to a new division where… pic.twitter.com/IA1G671HcT— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
February 2, 2026