However, according to former UFC “double champion” and Olympic-level wrestler, Daniel Cormier, he needs to be higher.
Indeed, during a recent chat with Chael Sonnen, “DC” made his case as to the reason(s) “Borz” needs to be ranked ahead of current UFC Bantamweight title holder, Merab Dvalishvili, who occupies the No. 3 spot, claiming that fighters now need to compete in multiple divisions, and win, to earn higher spots.
“He should be No. 3,” Cormier said on “Good Guy Bad Guy” (via MMA Junkie). “What it means, pound-for-pound, is your fight style transcends weight classes. Merab has not fought in any other weight class.
“Khamzat Chimaev had success at welterweight at a very high level, was on the verge of a title fight, has to go up, becomes a champion there,” Cormier added. “He beat Kamaru Usman, who was the champion at 170 at the time that he was working his way up the rankings. Because of those things, I think he falls right in line with Islam and Ilia Topuria, right in front of Merab Dvalishvili.”
For the record, Makhachev — who is ranked No. 2 — has yet to compete in another weight class inside the Octagon, though he is expected to challenge for Jack Della Maddalena’s Welterweight title later this year after vacating the 155-pound strap.
Further adding to Chimaev’s case could be that the suffocating Chechen wrestler is undefeated (15-0, 9-0 UFC), though he has only competed nine times inside the Octagon in five years. Dvalishvili, meanwhile, is on a 13-fight win streak with two consecutive title defenses. He will go for his third straight when he defends the 135-pound strap against Cory Sandhagen in the co-main event of UFC 320 on Oct. 4, 2025.
Do you agree with Cormier’s assessment on this one? Or, did the voting panel get it right?
