Why booking Khamzat Chimaev against Gerald Meerschaert and Demian Maia is a bad idea for the UFC

Ant Walker and Patrick Auger are joined by The Body Lock’s newest member, Matthew Wells, to discuss the news that the UFC is considering booking Khamzat Chimaev against Demian Maia following his upcoming bout with Gerald Meerschaert on September 19.

The UFC seemingly expects Chimaev to walk through the tough upcoming opponent, Gerald Meerschaert, before then facing Maia in Abu Dhabi.

The panel all agree that looking this far ahead could be a mistake for the UFC, who has unsuccessfully pushed rising stars in the years gone by.

Auger explains that he understands the business perspective of the fast-push for Chimaev and he believes that there must be major benefits from an analytics standpoint.

Wells wants to see how Chimaev handles the dangerous Meerschaert before even thinking about taking on one of the most impressive grapplers in the sport.

Walker reminds fans that Meerschaert has beaten many rising stars in the UFC before and expects the undefeated fighter to experience some adversity in this upcoming battle.

But, ultimately, the panel foresees Chimaev defeating Meerschaert and possibly Maia, too.

They also don’t rule out a rapid, Cody Garbrandt-like push to an almost-immediate title shot after defeating the #7 ranked fighter.

What do you think of how the UFC is handling the fast rise of Khamzat Chimaev?

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