Dana White Sends Cautionary Message To Khamzat Chimaev About Major UFC Career Move

"Borz" may be staying put at middleweight after all.

(GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

It has been nearly seven months since Khamzat Chimaev won the UFC Middleweight Championship vs. Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago, dominating the fight with a relentless pace and strong wrestling ability to take away du Plessis' potent striking throughout the entire fight.

In Chimaev's time off, he has begun to express interest in moving up to light heavyweight to try to win a second title. The latest hint of this came just three days ago on 'X,' keeping his message short and simple.

"205," Chimaev tweeted.

Chimaev then went viral following Sean Strickland's third-round TKO against Anthony Hernandez this past Saturday. Upon being pressed about Chimaev, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about Chimaev's current plans. White did not hint he had spoken to Chimaev, but was rather firm on what his next career steps should be.

Who Should Khamzat Chimaev Fight Next?

(Zuffa LLC)

"I’d like to see him defend his title at a weight first,” White told reporters following UFC Houston. “I’d like to see him defend his title before he talks about jumping around, you know? You’re going to keep going up in weight divisions without defending? Yeah, I’d rather see him defend.”

Against whom, though, might be the bigger question. Strickland, despite having yet to string together a pair of wins since losing his title against du Plessis at UFC 297, attempted to make his case during a short-lived post-fight presser.

It got a reaction from Chimaev, though the promotion has not made a decision about what's next for the former champion.

Nonetheless, it seems middleweight is in a bit of a weird spot.

The Current State of UFC's Middleweight Division

READ MORE: UFC Knockout Artist Absolutely Fatlines Top-Ranked Fighter at UFC Houston

(Zuffa LLC)

For starters, Nassourdine Imavov has won five in a row following a loss to Strickland in Jan. 2023. During the winning streak, Imavov has arguably looked better in every performance as it has progressed. This included a TKO-stoppage of former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya, as Adesanya tries to snap a three-fight skid March 28 vs. Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Seattle.

At the moment, du Plessis doesn't have a fight booked in what would be his first non-title fight since a July 2023 TKO-win vs. ex-champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Du Plessis defended the belt twice before his eventual loss to Chimaev, his first defeat since Oct. 2018.

The UFC will eventually have a lot of questions to answer about some of its key divisions, with the spring vastly approaching.

This includes middleweight.