Credit: Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev will stay active on the wrestling mats against a familiar foe.

After suffering one of the biggest upsets in UFC history earlier this year, Khamzat Chimaev is determined to make another middleweight title push after recently hinting at a move to light heavyweight. Chimaev, who lost to Sean Strickland by split decision earlier this year, called out a slew of top middleweights for his planned return to the Octagon.

Despite initially teasing a move to the light heavyweight division, Chimaev seems to have had a change of heart and eyes an eventual rematch with Strickland. Meanwhile, Strickland is widely expected to fight top middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov, potentially by year's end.

After defeating Dillon Danis in his highly anticipated Real American Freestyle wrestling debut earlier this year, Chimaev is looking to stay active on the mats. Despite long-standing beef with Colby Covington, Chimaev will face a familiar rival in his wrestling return.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns 2 added to Colby Covington-headlined card

As announced by RAF on Wednesday, Chimaev will compete against former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns in the RAF 13 co-main event on September 18th. The matchup will be contested at a catchweight.

Burns retired from the UFC earlier this year at UFC Winnipeg following a loss to Mike Malott. He last competed in submission grappling earlier this summer, defeating Horlando Monteiro at UFC BJJ 9.

Burns handed Chimaev one of the toughest tests of his UFC career at UFC 273. After their three-round war, Chimaev escaped with a unanimous decision win on the judges' scorecards.

The RAF 13 pits former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington against former UFC titleholder Belal Muhammad in the main event. Covington and Muhammad nearly brawled at a post-match press conference earlier this year.

Who should Khamzat Chimaev fight next in his UFC return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Zuffa LLC

Justin Gaethje initially had revenge on his mind, but he'd put that to the side for a clash with Conor McGregor.

Gaethje has fought just about every high-level lightweight of his era that one can think of. He's taken on the likes of Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, Ilia Topuria, Dustin Poirier, and Eddie Alvarez to name a few. The one name who has eluded him is McGregor.

While Gaethje suffered a brutal knockout loss to Holloway and was choked out by Oliveira, “The Highlight†told CBS Sports' Damien Harris that he'd rather finally get his hands on “Mystic Mac†than get a chance at redemption (via MMAFighting).

“Damn, there's really no one,†Gaethje said. “It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I'm going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back.

“So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.â€

Gaethje is the reigning UFC lightweight titleholder after Topuria failed to leave his stool for the fifth round of their UFC Freedom 250 clash back in June. Throughout his career, Gaethje had been chasing undisputed status. Now that he has achieved his goal, the fan favorite admits he's in unfamiliar territory.

“It's such a weird place to be in,†Gaethje said. “There's always been a champion, I've always had somebody to chase. Now, being the champion, it's like I just have to retain and hold onto what I have. I'm not looking at specific opponents, I know the best in the world are gunning for me. So that is the name of the game. I know that it's going to be one of the best guys in the world.

“Arman [Tsarukyan] was fighting Oliveira, now he's fighting someone else, so there's a couple of big fights that are going to determine who I'll fight next.â€

Tsarukyan has a fight with Mauricio Ruffy scheduled for UFC 331 on Sept. 19. If “Batman†is able to win that bout, he could find himself challenging Gaethje for the top prize at 155 pounds. If Ruffy pulls off the upset, it would make things quite interesting for the UFC matchmakers.

Do you think Justin Gaethje should ditch the idea of fighting Conor McGregor, or is there still a chance the bout could take place? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Zuffa LLC

Tom Aspinall is eager to get back inside the Octagon, but Eddie Hearn said his fighter needs additional testing on his eyes before he throws leather again.

Aspinall hasn't been in action since suffering a double eye poke in the UFC 321 main event back in Oct. 2025. He was putting his heavyweight gold at stake against Ciryl Gane, who was having success on the feet before committing the accidental foul. Aspinall couldn't continue, and the fight was ruled a no contest.

In the following weeks and months, Aspinall had to undergo numerous eye surgeries to correct his issues. While Hearn, who represents Aspinall through Matchroom's talent agency, wants to see his fighter leave no doubt as to who runs the UFC heavyweight division, he admitted to Bloody Elbow that there is still a hurdle to clear (via MMAFighting).

“He's under contract,†Hearn said. “The only thing that we have to look at is when Tom Aspinall will be ready to return. And that's not when he will be ready to return from a mindset perspective; that's from a commission perspective in terms of his injuries. And that shows you what he has been through, because if the commission won't let him fight, you know how serious the injuries were. Not saying that's the case, but that's the position we need to get to in order for him to return to the ring.

“He's motivated, and I can't give you an exact date yet, but what I can tell you is he wants to get back in there as soon as he is physically able to do so.â€

Hearn insists that Aspinall is in the right frame of mind to do battle once again, but he must see through the logistics before he's back to prizefighting.

“It all depends whether he'll be ready,†Hearn said. “He's training. I think he's gonna have to go through some additional testing to make sure he's good to return, but he wants to fight.

Ciryl Gane has since captured the interim heavyweight title, stopping Alex Pereira via second-round TKO at UFC Freedom 250. A title unification bout with Aspinall is the clear path once the main champion is fully ready to compete again.

Are you expecting Tom Aspinall to fight Ciryl Gane in a title unification bout before the end of 2026, or will we have to wait a bit longer? Join in on the conversation in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM