Khamzat Chimaev has has been told to take on Gilbert Burns for a second time at 185lb if he makes a weight switch.
Chimaev recorded the latest victory of his remarkable UFC rise when he defeated late replacement Kevin Holland at UFC 279 earlier this month. It was not all good news for the Chechen star however who missed weight for his original planned bout with Nate Diaz, which puts his title charge at 170lb in jeopardy after struggling to make the cut.
There is likely to be a number of options for 'Borz' if he elects to put on 15lb and move up which include his plan to get an immediate title shot at champion Israel Adesanya. However former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo believes he could be joined at 185lb by his former foe Burns who gave a great account of himself during his defeat.
"Instead of Gilbert Burns going down to 170 pounds, we bring them up to 185 pounds because they had such a fight at their fight in Jacksonville, Florida," Cejudo proposed when discussing a potential second bout between Chimaev and Burns on his YouTube channel. "I like that fight, I think they'll do it again.
"I think this time we're going to be able to see if Khamzat could really take him down like he said he would at will and I just think this is a matchup that Gilbert wants and that Khamzat has talked about. I say you guys run it back at 185 pounds."
Chimaev was involved in a thrilling encounter with the Brazilian contender back in April where he was knocked down twice but recovered to get the decision on the judges scorecards by scoring a knockdown of his own. Many began suggesting they had spotted the weaknesses of Chimaev during that clash, with Burns having made a hugely successful in-road into the credentials of the rising star.
A second potential fight now has an added storyline to it with the pair having since traded verbal barbs over the final outcome of the three-round clash. And the Swedish fighter mocked Burns after the showdown claiming that he made his rival famous. "This guy, I made him famous," Chimaev told The MMA Hour. "The guy wasn't nothing before me. I made him famous.
"He lost the fight and he was happier. I was angry after that fight and I won that fight. I was angry because I didn't finish that guy. And I don't understand, some guys like Gilbert, become happy when he lost the fight. I don't think he will ever be champion. Because if you are happy when you lost the fight, you never will be champion.
"These things I just don't understand. When some people lose, why are they happy? People are saying 'Oh Gilbert [Burns] did good, he did good!' He's been in the UFC for several years. I started fighting five years ago. I'm also human, you know."
