Fast-rising star Khamzat Chimaev has been calling out seemingly everyone at welterweight and middleweight on Twitter. According to UFC president Dana White, Chimaev can settle down because he is finally getting a fight against a highly ranked contender.
Appearing on the Jim Rome Show, White announced that a fight between Chimaev and welterweight contender Leon Edwards has been agreed to.
"We just got a deal done yesterday for Leon Edwards vs. Chimaev," White said. "They will fight, it will be a great fight. He can stop calling everybody out on Twitter now. He's got an opponent."
ESPN reports the fight will main event on Dec. 19 -- the final UFC card of 2020. The news comes one day after Edwards was removed from his No. 3 spot in the official UFC rankings due to inactivity. Edwards pushed back at his removal and pitched the Chimaev fight, tweeting, "I'm still in the rankings. F--- all the inactivity, the only reason I haven't fought is because all these so called top guys turned me down. Khamzat want to fight then?"
Chimaev quickly fired a tweet in return, stating, "I'm always ready to fight. Let's go. Rock'n'roll baby."
Chimaev has become MMA's breakout star in 2020, rattling off three quick and dominant wins since debuting in the Octagon in July and barely being on the receiving end of a single strike in his UFC career. He has been calling for bigger fights in an effort to move up the rankings and Edwards is one of the biggest available fights in terms of accomplished opponents, having been a fringe title contender for years.
