Jon Jones has weighed in on Khamzat Chimaev’s decision to move up to the light heavyweight division in the future.
Chimaev, the newly minted 185-pound kingpin, won the championship at UFC 319 by dominantly dethroning Dricus du Plessis. ‘Borz’ is currently on the sidelines because of a minor foot injury that will require surgery. He’s expected to return for his first title defense after Ramadan in mid-2026. Chimaev’s next challenge will most likely be Nassourdine Imavov.
After defending his UFC middleweight crown once, Chimaev wants to move up in pursuit of two-division glory. Recently, Jon Jones shared his thoughts on how the Chechen-born Emirati will fare at a higher weight class. ‘Bones’ told Red Corner MMA:
I think Khamzat Chimaev can win at any weight. I think he is one of the toughest fighters on the planet right now. I think he’s big enough to compete with heavyweights, and I think he’s still small enough to go down. I think he makes a great welterweight. I would love to see him at light heavyweight. I think he would do great against these guys like [Alex] Pereira and [Magomed] Ankalaev and all these guys.”
Check out Jon Jones’ comments about Khamzat Chimaev below:
Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight Alex Pereira
After a first successful title defense at middleweight, Khamzat Chimaev wants to move up to light heavyweight, as mentioned before. The 31-year-old has his crosshairs on Alex Pereira, who is the current and two-time UFC light heavyweight champion and also a former UFC middleweight champion.
‘Poatan,’ on the other hand, has not shown interest in the bout.
At UFC 320, after dismantling Magomed Ankalaev in Round 1 and reclaiming the title, ‘Poatan’ now wants to move up to heavyweight and try his shot at becoming the first three-division champion. He has called out Jon Jones. However, the UFC head brass has not seconded this idea.
Meanwhile, as champion Tom Aspinall recovers from his eye injury, there have been rumors about the Brazilian vacating his light heavyweight strap and moving up to fight Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title this year.