"These [middleweight] fights don't make me excited, but I need to do my job," Chimaev told ESPN."
"I need to make money. If there is a big name to make more money, then I will be excited. If you get $3 million for a fight, but then you have a good [opponent] and you make $6 million, of course you'll be excited."
Khamzat Chimaev (15-0) intends to make one middleweight title defense after Ramadan in March before moving up to the light heavyweight division to chase a second belt. He captured the middleweight title by defeating Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in August. He finds ordinary middleweight fights unexciting but recognizes the need to work and earn money, with bigger paydays increasing his interest. He would prefer not to fight training partner Nassourdine Imavov but would accept the matchup if both Imavov and the UFC wanted it. Another likely opponent is the winner of Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez.
Read at ESPN.com
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