Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gerald Meerschaert in the works for UFC event on Sept. 19

A middleweight showdown between highly touted prospect Khamzat Chimaev and Gerald Meerschaert is currently in the works for the upcoming UFC event on Sept. 19.

Multiple sources confirmed the planned pairing to MMA Fighting following an initial report from Combate.

Since making his octagon debut in July, Chimaev has quickly become one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire UFC roster. The Russian born fighter made an impressive debut by tearing through John Phillips in just over a minute into their fight on July 15 before making a quick turn around and doing almost the exact same thing to Rhys McKee 10 days later.

Chimaev wanted to return to action again in August, but travel issues prevented the UFC from booking him on a card in the United States at the time. Now with his visa secured, Chimaev is expected to come to America for the fight on Sept. 19.

As for Meerschaert, he’s looking to get back in the win column after losing to Ian Heinisch in his last outing at UFC 250 in June. He was originally scheduled to fight on Aug. 1, but was pulled from a scheduled bout against Ed Herman after testing positive for COVID-19.

Now it appears Meerschaert will look to pull off the upset against arguably the hottest prospect in the entire sport in Chimaev. In an odd wrinkle, UFC President Dana White recently revealed that the promotion is also working on a welterweight fight between Chimaev and two-time UFC title challenger Demian Maia for a future Fight Island card.

The planned double booking did not sit well with Meerschaert:

The Sept. 19 UFC card will be headlined by a grudge match between Colby Covington and former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.