Daniel Cormier believes Khamzat Chimaev is in a tough spot ahead of UFC 279.
Khamzat will meet UFC veteran and fan favorite Nate Diaz in the main event, but ‘DC’ doesn’t think a victory pushes ‘Borz’ any closer to a title shot due to what happened last weekend at UFC 278.
Cormier thinks Chimaev was the biggest loser from UFC 278 after Leon Edwards likely ruined his path to title contention by usurping and KO’ing Kamaru Usman to become the new welterweight champion.
With Edwards and Usman expected to meet again in an immediate rematch, that leaves Khamzat without a clear path to the title even if he defeats Diaz next month.
Cormier thinks the undefeated Chechnan will have to accept another fight, possibly against Colby Covington, before he gets to challenge the winner Edwards-Usman 3 for the title.
“I think last weekend he did not understand that he was the biggest loser in the Usman versus Leon situation because he was in line,” Cormier said of Khamzat during a recent episode of 3 Rounds with DC! (h/t Sportskeeda). All he had to do was get past Diaz. All he had to do, get past Diaz, you fight for the championship, but with Leon Edwards winning now, now we got a trilogy and rightfully so.”
“That leads to the question, what is this fight for?” DC added. “I feel like for Diaz, this fight is for legacy. I feel like for Chimaev, this is just another scalp on his resume because I don’t know if this win necessarily puts him closer than he already is to a championship fight. And, because of the result last weekend, he’ll need one more. I just wonder who that one more is going to come against. If he beats Diaz, does he get Covington next?”
UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz takes place next month, Sept. 10, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
