UFC boss Dana White has dismissed speculation that British welterweight star Leon Edwards will be next up for rising Russian-born star Khamzat Chimaev as he aims to continue his record-breaking assault on the rankings.
Chimaev picked up a third UFC victory in the space of a little over two months when he destroyed Gerald Meerschaert with a one-punch KO just 17 seconds into their contest in Las Vegas earlier in September.
The victory added to the red-hot hype surrounding Chimaev, with White saying he had “never seen anything like” the Chechen-born fighter.
White confirmed in the build-up to UFC 253 this weekend that the 26-year-old would get main-event billing for his next octagon contest, which would be against a ranked fighter.
Speculation has intensified over who that rival will be, with names tossed around including Brazilian grappling icon Demian Maia and even fan favorite and welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal.
More recently, British number-three ranked welterweight contender Edwards and America’s Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson have been thrown into the mix.
READ MORE: UFC sensation Chimaev says Brazilian icon Maia ‘refused fight’, claims Masvidal bout is ‘possible’
White dismissed “bullsh*t” reports that Edwards was in the frame to face the undefeated Swedish-based star, but confirmed that the UFC had offered ‘Wonderboy’ the chance to face Chimaev, although the situation was complicated.
“We’ve offered Wonderboy [the fight with Chimaev], but Wonderboy wants to fight Leon Edwards,” White said in Abu Dhabi.
“We’ll see how this plays out, but that’s completely not true, Leon Edwards is not lined up to fight Khamzat, we offered it to Wonderboy, but Wonderboy wants to fight Leon.
“We’re nowhere on this thing, and for anyone to report that is total f*cking bullsh*t and typical MMA f*cking silliness.”
Meanwhile, Chimaev’s Twitter account posted his latest callout, which seemed to be directed at middleweight ruler Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya produced a masterclass in his second-round TKO victory against Brazilian challenger Paulo Costa in Abu Dhabi to defend his 185lbs title.
Give me the skinny guy ?
“Give me the skinny guy,” tweeted Chimaev’s account not long after Adesanya’s victory.
Two of Chimaev’s three UFC victories have come at middleweight, including his destruction of Meerschaert in his last contest.
