Khamzat Chimaev Ready for UFC Return

Khamzat Chimaev says he is ready to return whenever the UFC gives him a fight, maintaining that his approach has not changed since losing the title earlier this year. In comments reported by LowKick MMA, Chimaev said he is training and could compete immediately, while taking a lighthearted shot at Sean Strickland over the stalled rematch discussion. The Chechen-born Emirati fighter has repeatedly said he wants another meeting with Strickland as soon as possible, but the UFC has not yet named the next challenger at 185 pounds.

The immediate issue for Khamzat Chimaev is not readiness, based on his own account. It is matchmaking. Chimaev framed his return as dependent on receiving an assignment from UFC officials rather than on a personal timetable. That distinction matters because his preferred route is clear: a rematch with Strickland, the current and two-time UFC middleweight champion who dethroned Chimaev at UFC 328. Chimaev had planned to move to 205 pounds in pursuit of a second belt, but those plans were postponed after the loss. His present focus, according to the supplied report, remains firmly on a return at middleweight and on getting back to the title picture.

Khamzat Chimaev keeps his return stance clear

Chimaev’s message was direct. “Nothing’s changed. We’re training, waiting for Strickland to come out of his house,” he said, before adding that he will return whenever he is given a fight and is ready “even today.” The comment about Strickland was presented as a lighthearted dig, but the larger point was Chimaev’s stated availability. He is not describing a lengthy preparation period or attaching a date to his comeback. Instead, he says he is prepared to accept a bout when the UFC offers one. That stance follows a major change in Chimaev’s plans. After UFC 328, where Strickland dethroned him, Chimaev put his intended move to 205 pounds on hold. The report establishes that he has since voiced a desire to run the fight back with Strickland ASAP. The rematch is therefore more than a passing preference in his comments: it is the route he has consistently identified after being uncrowned.

The title-challenger picture remains unresolved in the material provided. Dana White said a few weeks ago that UFC matchmakers had not decided who would challenge for the 185-pound title next. That leaves Chimaev’s desired rematch without confirmation, even as he says he is ready to compete. Nassourdine Imavov has separately claimed that he is next in line to face Strickland, adding another stated claim to an undecided situation. Strickland’s recent recovery is also part of the backdrop described by the report. He suffered shoulder and nose injuries and underwent stem cell therapy rather than surgery. In recent weeks, he has been spotted training often at the UFC PI. None of that confirms a rematch or sets a return date. It does, however, explain why Chimaev’s public position is centered on waiting for a fight offer rather than announcing a booked contest.

Khamzat Chimaev faces an open path at 185

If Khamzat Chimaev is not granted an immediate title rematch, the supplied report identifies a possible route back to a title opportunity: returning to the win column first. One potential opponent mentioned is Dricus du Plessis, who most recently earned a dominant unanimous-decision victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC Oklahoma City. The report characterizes a Chimaev-du Plessis rematch as a possible option, not as a confirmed booking or UFC plan. For Chimaev, the confirmed position is simpler than the speculation around potential opponents. He says he is training, ready now and waiting for the UFC to decide his next assignment. His postponed 205-pound ambition and his continued call for Strickland show that his immediate attention has shifted back to middleweight. Until matchmakers make a decision, Chimaev’s readiness is the only firm next-step signal supplied by his comments.

• Khamzat Chimaev says he is training and ready to return whenever the UFC gives him a fight, including immediately.
• Khamzat Chimaev wants a rematch with Sean Strickland, but the UFC had not decided the next 185-pound title challenger when Dana White commented a few weeks ago.

Khamzat Chimaev has made his position public without claiming that a fight is finalized. He remains focused on a UFC return, wants Strickland again and says he can compete as soon as the promotion provides an opponent. The next middleweight title challenger has not been decided in the supplied material, leaving Chimaev’s requested rematch as an ambition rather than a confirmed next fight.

Sources: LowKick MMA