The UFC middleweight king is probably not ruled out in spite of everything.
Khamzat Chimaev’s potential hopes of competing on the UFC’s upcoming White House event appeared to take a success when Merab Dvalishvili claimed the promotion was not booking any Russian fighters on the cardboard.
Dvalishvili hinted on the ban on Russian athletes while explaining why his trilogy fight with UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan won’t be happening in Washington D.C. on June 14.
As Chimaev was born in Chechnya, a republic of Russia, the alleged rule looked to place the reigning titleholder at 185 kilos out of contention together with Yan, Islam Makhachev, and other stars.
But his coach has said not so fast.
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Khamzat Chimaev’s UAE switch could leave the door open to a UFC White House fight
After Dvalishvili’s remarks, much of the give attention to White House bookings has centered around global stars like Conor McGregor and Ilia Topuria, along with the American fan favorites who could take part in the national celebration.
But Chimaev’s coach, Alan Nascimento, believes his fighter’s United Arab Emirates citizenship could make him eligible to bypass any prohibition on Russian fighters competing on the White House.
“We’re just waiting to see what the UFC goes to come to a decision,” Nascimento told MMA TODAY. “We’ve got heard a number of speculation that no Russians could be allowed to fight (on the White House).
“Either way, he’s not a Russian anymore… That’s what people forget. At all times (he has been) representing Sweden. Now he (is) representing the UAE.
“He has a UAE passport. He’s a UAE resident. He has a house here. He has every little thing here. Speaks English. So I feel in his case it could possibly be easier to fight within the White House,” he added.
“However the individuals who have the facility and take care of the politics, I leave that to them.”
Chimaev has close ties to Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader whose alleged human rights violations have resulted in sanctions from america.
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Khamzat Chimaev could fight the Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez winner
Along with his first defense of the middleweight title still yet to be announced, ‘Borz’ will likely be paying close attention to this Saturday’s UFC Houston predominant event.
Closing the show on the Toyota Center might be Sean Strickland’s return against Anthony Hernandez. Each the previous champion and the surging contender might be seeking to stake their claims for the primary shot at the brand new champ.
And based on Chimaev’s coach, the winner could thoroughly be next in line despite Nassourdine Imavov’s presence.
“Nothing is ready,” Nascimento told MMA Fighting.
“I feel the UFC (is) waiting for the fight between ‘Fluffy’ and Strickland to see what would sell more, the winner of that fight or Imavov, who’s the present contender,” he added.