When it comes to the potential matchup between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev, Dana White is open to discussing it, but with one caveat. Usman recently suggested the idea of fighting Chimaev and even mentioned the possibility of moving up to middleweight to make it happen. However, White made it clear that in order for the fight to even have a chance of taking place, Usman’s “potentially” needs to become a “definitely.”

White expressed his dislike for catchweight fights and stated that he was not interested in the Usman-Chimaev matchup taking place at a catchweight. “Catchweights mean nothing. They mean absolutely nothing,” he explained. Instead, White said that he would be willing to consider the fight if Usman moved up to 185 pounds to compete against Chimaev.

Usman’s recent past isn’t ideal coming off two consecutive losses to current welterweight champion Leon Edwards. He lost his welterweight title to a shocking fifth-round knockout at UFC 278 and then dropped a decision in his rematch at UFC 286 in March.

Chimaev, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since his first-round submission victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279 last September. Despite his win, Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds for his scheduled main event bout with Nate Diaz, leading to multiple fights being shuffled around.

Looking ahead, Chimaev hopes to compete at the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi in October and is expected to move up to middleweight for the foreseeable future. While he may be a rising star in the UFC, any potential matchup with Usman would need to be taken seriously and determined to be a definite by both parties involved.