Henry Cejudo believes Khamzat Chimaev should pursue middleweight title if he beats Nate Diaz at UFC 279

Khamzat Chimaev has fought at both welterweight and middleweight in the UFC and Henry Cejudo believes the Swede should return to 185lbs after UFC 279.

Chimaev is set to face Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279, in what many thought would secure ‘Borz’ a welterweight title fight. However, with Kamaru Usman losing the belt to Leon Edwards and the two likely having a trilogy, Cejudo believes Chimaev should try fighting at middleweight and pursuing the title at 185lbs.

“If I was Khamzat Chimaev, I would go up,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel (via MMAJunkie). “Because these guys (Edwards and Usman) aren’t gonna fight until February. I think Khamzat beats him (Diaz). I think he challenges the winner of Israel and Pereira, and I think if he decides he wants to come back down, he should come back down. But I wouldn’t wait for Kamaru or Leon, because he’s looking at potentially a year before he fights somebody like that. I know Khamzat wants to be active, and he’s struggling to make 170, so that’s what I would do.”

Although Henry Cejudo believes Khamzat Chimaev should go up to middleweight, it’s uncertain if that will be the case. ‘Borz’ also needs to get past Nate Diaz first, and although he is a massive favorite, it still is a fight and anything can happen. Along with that, Chimaev has been vocal in wanting to remain active, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take another fight at welterweight. There will still be plenty of options for him in terms of opponents and he can get more Octagon time as he waits to face the winner of Edwards-Usman 3.

Do you agree with Henry Cejudo that Khamzat Chimaev should pursue the middleweight title if he wins at UFC 279?