UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev in a hurry to battle Adesanya

 

Khamzat Chimaev who has been dubbed  UFC’s most exciting rising star, can hardly wait to battle Nigeria born New Zealand fighter Israel Adesanya.

Chimaev who is due to face British welterweight Leon Edwards on December 19 is not only boasting about his resolve to dethrone Adesanya but also took a swipe at Brazilian  Paulo Costa who was recently demolished by the Nigeria born fighter  describing him as a ‘chicken’

Chimaev is undefeated and has been utterly dominant in three UFC fights so far, earning him a December 19 showdown with British welterweight Leon Edwards.

But the 26-year-old also competes at middleweight and claims he will be the man to dethrone Adesanya when the time comes. ‘

Adesanya made mincemeat of Costa at the UFC 253 last month but Chimaez was not impressed saying it was a cheap one as the challenger according to him performed below par.

‘I think Paulo Costa was scared in the Israel Adesanya fight,’ he told Dan Hardy.

‘I don’t know why people are scared to go in the cage. In the gym everybody is tough with hard sparring then come to the cage and be a chicken. I don’t understand this mentality.

‘Adesanya is good in the stand-up but to be honest, nobody wrestled against him. [Against] Yoel Romero he did only three to four punches of stand-up.

‘I can beat this guy. How will he get up from under me if I take him down? I don’t think he can, I’m going to beat his face.’

Chimaev has been praised by UFC president Dana White as ‘special’ and the Russian-born Swede has gained incredible momentum with fans in a short space of time.

His aggressive style and dominant performances combined with a softly spoken menace outside the octagon has driven him to a huge fight so early in his UFC career.

Read AlsoUFC: Adesanya defends middleweight title via knockout

Edwards is ranked No 3 in the welterweight division and marks a huge step up for Chimaev in the level of opponent.

But the confidence of the Russian born Swedish is soaring and he believes he can beat anybody, in almost any weight division.