Jones is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, while Chimaev has built his reputation as one of today’s most dominant fighters. “Bones” and Chimaev have long wanted to meet, so of course their greeting there was a wrestling exchange.
Khamzat Chimaev wrestles Jon Jones 👀
(via IG/rizvan82) pic.twitter.com/qYeP7BJQQo
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 25, 2025
Jones jumped on his X account to praise Chimaev for his dedication.
“We were able to have a great dinner together, he seemed so humble, focused and driven,” Jones wrote. “At the end of dinner he told me he had to drive four hours back to the mountains to train.”
In 2022, Chimaev took to his YouTube channel to express his desire to train with Jones. He paid respect to ‘Bones’ legendary run in the Octagon.
“Maybe I’ll write Jon Jones,” Chimaev said. “I said I wanted to train with him. The guys he beat, they were monsters, monsters in his division. He didn’t get easy fighters, but he made them look easy.”
Renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has said that UFC hopes to book Jones against current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira for the White House card. Helwani also dismissed rumors that Pereira vs. Carlos Ulberg would be on the table for UFC 324.
As for Chimaev, his first UFC middleweight title defense is unknown at this time. Most within the MMA community believe that Nassourdine Imavov will likely be next in line for a title shot, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.
Chimaev captured the UFC Middleweight Championship with a dominant performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 318. Chimaev had nearly 22 minutes of control time against du Plessis en route to capturing UFC gold for the first time in his career.
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