There was a time in the not-too-distant past when former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, was unimpressed with “rat lip” Khamzat Chimaev, an up-and-coming middleweight who was “not really relevant” in the 185-pound title picture.
Fast-forward to early 2025 and “Borz” remains undefeated in the middleweight division, with a hit list that includes former division titleholder Robert Whittaker. In fact, that violent submission victory (see it here) was enough to put Adesanya on notice.
“He’s really good,” Adesanya told reporters during the UFC Saudi Arabia media day (via The Mac Life). “When he fought Gilbert Burns was the one I had respect for him, I was like okay, he’s got that dog in him, he can fight, he can dig deep and he can still swing. But when he fought Rob and beat him the way he did, it made me take notice. Like okay, I gotta be careful with this guy, watch out for this guy.”
Adesanya (24-4) and Chimaev (14-0) are separated by just one spot in the latest UFC middleweight rankings, but that pecking order could change if “The Last Stylebender” falls to Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner this weekend in Riyadh.
Chimaev is currently unbooked and that status is unlikely to change until after the UFC 312 pay-per-view (PPV) card next month in Sydney, where Dricus Du Plessis defends the middleweight title in a rematch against former champion Sean Strickland.
