There has been a lot of talk recently about Khamzat Chimaev potentially moving up and facing Israel Adesanya. The UFC middleweight champion has addressed the fight before and has always shut it down.

Israel Adesanya was recently with Mike Tyson and the fight was brought up again. The UFC champion had quite an interesting analogy when describing the potential fight with Khamzat Chimaev.

“I remember someone said that to me at the post-fight press conference and I was like, ‘Okay. And?’” Adesanya said on Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. “I feel like when a dog barks at the moon, that’s normal, but when the moon barks at the dog, that’s something special.

“This guy fights at welterweight. He’s fought at middleweight one time, and he fought a low-ranked guy. He definitely can beat some middleweights but I’m like, show me something. Show me something. His last fight was impressive. I might not like you, but if I’m impressed by what you do, I will give you props. He’s a beast. But he’s a beast at 170.”

There is some interest in fighting Khamzat Chimaev for the UFC middleweight title in the future. Israel Adesanya wants to be impressed by him first before anything can happen.

“Right now, I’m lapping the division,” Adesanya said. “I need some fresh blood. He’s fresh blood where I’m like, show me something. I love what he’s doing at 170 but show me something.”

Khamzat Chimaev has a big fight against Gilbert Burns booked for UFC 273. An impressive win is expected to get him into the title conversation which could lead to a fight with Israel Adesanya.