Michael Bisping, a former divisional champ, has praised Jared Cannonier, a former middleweight title contender, as the ideal opponent for Khamzat to face when he returns to the Octagon.
Cannonier is currently ranked number four in the middleweight division. Since June, when he won two straight fights, Cannonier was sidelined. In a Fight of the Night, Cannonier defeated former title rival Marvin Vettori by a unanimous decision.
Prior to that, the former light heavyweight landed a controversial split decision win over former undisputed middleweight kingpin, Sean Strickland – with the victory returning him to the winner’s enclosure after his title siege defeat to common-foe, Israel Adesanya.
As for Chimaev, the AllStars MMA veteran co-headlined UFC 294 back in October of last year, turning in a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion and pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman – improving his unbeaten record to 13-0.
Jared Cannonier is backed by Khamzat Chimbaev
Adesanya, Strickland and Paulo Costa are among the former champions who have been mentioned.
