UFC Middleweight fighter Bo Nickal believes Khamzat Chimaev will be a tougher fight for Leon Edwards than Islam Makhachev. Nickal, an accomplished wrestler, claimed Chimaev coming down to Welterweight from Middleweight poses a stronger threat to Edwards than Makhachev moving up from Lightweight.
Makhachev called out Edwards and hoped to move up to fight him for the title. Nickal sees it as a competitive fight but does not count Edwards out of it.
Nickal took to his YouTube channel and said, “I think there are guys that are going to be able to give him some resistance and stuff… “If Khamzat goes back down, that’s a freaking tough fight for him. Islam [Makhachev] would be a tough fight for him, as well, but I think that’s really competitive.
“I feel like Khamzat comes down, he would probably beat him up,” he continued. “But Islam coming up, even though he’s a big 55’er, Leon’s big. Leon can freaking strike. Colby [Covington] was able to hold him down a good amount, so who knows? And Leon’s smart, he keeps his cool so, I don’t know.” (h/t MMA Junkie)
Chimaev, who has fought at Welterweight, was scheduled to face Edwards in 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183. However, both fighters tested positive for COVID-19 back-to-back. Their fight was rescheduled twice from January to March 2021 but it could not materialize.
🚨AND STILL!!!!
LEON EDWARDS DEFEATS COLBY COVINGTON VIA DECISION #UFC #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/RI7f0ErdPg
— MMAValour (@MmaValour) December 17, 2023
Edwards went on to fight Kamaru Usman for the Welterweight title in August 2022. The English fighter won the title and defended it against Usman in their rematch. Recently, Edwards pulled off another successful title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296.
Islam Makhachev called out Leon Edwards after his “bullsh*t” title defense at UFC 296
UFC Lightweight champion Makhachev was unimpressed with Edwards’ title defense against Covington. The Dagestani fighter claimed, “Leon has to be next… And also, this fight [Edwards vs Covington] is bullsh*t, man. We have to change the champion.”
Colby should learn trash talking from islam, no crossing lines just speaking about the skills pic.twitter.com/mL56R1c9a2
— Abady Makhachev (@AbadyMMA) December 17, 2023
Makhachev’s justification for a Welterweight title shot was the fact that he let Alexander Volkanovski come to Lightweight from Featherweight to have a title fight.
“I gave a chance to [Volkanovski], so they have to give me a chance, too,” Makhachev told ESPN. “I gave a chance to a guy from another division to come to my weight and to try to take this belt, and he lost. I want my chance, too.”
Makhachev defeated Charles Oliviera to win the Lightweight title at UFC 280. He defended the title twice in 2023 against Volkanovski. The Aussie fighter moved up to Lightweight twice but lost both the fights. Now, Makhachev wants to move up to Welterweight to get a title shot against Edwards. Although UFC CEO Dana White claimed he would like to see Makhachev at 155, it will be interesting to see how Makhachev’s call-out pans out.