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Khamzat Chimaev of the UFC

UFC heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov reacted after Khamzat Chimaev said he was pondering a move up to the weight class.

During UFC 328 media week, Chimaev said that he was pondering a future move up to the UFC heavyweight division, as he admitted he is chasing big fights for big money at this point in his career. While light heavyweight is the next weight class up, Chimaev took it a step further and said he was thinking about going to heavyweight, if that’s where the biggest fights are for him.

“If I stay there (at middleweight) and I beat Sean, Imavov was already beat by Sean, so what’s the point? We just go and (play) Russian Roulette? I just want big fights. Alex Pereira, if he loses (at UFC Freedom 250 to Ciryl Gane), he’s going to come down. He’s a big fight, big name. If not, I go to heavyweight, maybe there as well. I need big names, big money. I came here to do some big things, not just stay here and take the easy fights,” Chimaev said.

Alexander Volkov Reacts to Khamzat Chimaev News

Should Chimaev indeed move up to heavyweight, then one of the division’s top fighters has no problem with it.

Speaking to reporters at media day ahead of UFC 328, Volkov was asked what he thinks about Chimaev’s potentially moving up to the promotion’s heaviest weight class. For the fellow Russian, he has no problem with Chimaev if he chooses to move up to heavyweight, as Volkov thinks it would be intriguing to see how his wrestling stacks up against the UFC’s biggest fighters.

“Oh, I will be excited if he comes to the heavyweight division. It will be interesting for everyone if he can handle his wrestling with the bigger guys. Yeah, it will be very interesting for everyone to watch, so I’ll be okay and very excited if he comes to heavyweight,” Volkov said.

Khamzat Chimaev Has to Get Past Sean Strickland First

Before Chimaev can even consider a move up to heavyweight, or even light heavyweight for that matter, he needs to take care of business this Saturday at UFC 328 when he battles Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight title.

The two former training partners do not like each other, making this a true grudge match between two of the sport’s best trash-talkers. Chimaev is a monster -600 betting favorite for this fight, with the comeback on Strickland at +425, so the oddsmakers and betting public believe Chimaev is going to win this fight rather easily. But we have seen Strickland pull off several massive upsets in the past, so this fight is far from a lock for Chimaev to get his hand raised.

Should he win, however, Chimaev is going to have a big decision to make regarding his next bout, as he would have to give up the middleweight title to move up in weight to light heavyweight. Perhaps, if that happens and he does well at 205 lbs, a move to heavyweight could happen one day as Chimaev chases the biggest money fights possible.