After wowing Dana White over the summer Khamzat Chimaev landed a plum opportunity to leap frog the competition and get himself into the title picture at 170 lbs. On December 19th the 3-fight UFC veteran is scheduled to face top ranked welterweight Leon Edwards.
The booking opposite Edwards was the culmination of Chimaev’s campaign to land a ranked opponent, while claiming (incorrectly) that no one wanted to fight him. The booking also came after Edwards was removed from the UFC rankings for inactivity, which threatened to erase the progress he had earned after an 8-fight win streak in the promotion.