It’s now set in stone. Artur Betervbiev and Dmitry Bivol are 1-1 against each other. The common thing about the duo is that both men handed the other their first professional boxing loss. The other common thing is that both men beating the other made the winner the undisputed light heavyweight champion on two separate occasions. There’s another commonality—they were both backed by UFC middleweight stars.

On one hand, you had Israel Adesanya betting on Dmitry Bivol winning for the second time. He previously bet on Bivol when the latter lost to Beterbiev in their first meeting. Sticking to his guns, he bet $10,000 on Bivol, earning a hefty chunk in payouts after the second fight. On the other hand, you have Khamzat Chimaev supporting his long-time friend Artur Beterbiev. While Chimaev didn’t place money on the former undisputed LHW champion to win, he recently took to his Instagram stories to support the former Russian champion with the caption, “@arturbeterbiev (bicep emoji)”

Unfortunately, the bout didn’t go Khamzat Chimaev‘s way as he watched his good friend lose his belts over 12 rounds to the Tokmok native Russian, now-undisputed light heavyweight champion. And true to form, ‘Borz’ took to his Instagram to share words of motivation for Artur Beterbiev: “ Will always remain in the history of boxing @arturbeterbiev.”

The friendship between Chimaev and Beterbiev goes back a long way. ‘Borz’ praised Artur Beterbiev when he scored an eighth-round TKO over Anthony Yarde to defend his WBO, IBF, and WBC light-heavyweight straps. This got Chimaev calling him the “king of boxing.” And this respect and appreciation goes both ways apparently. Let’s take a look at when Artur Beterbiev congratulated his friend for a spectacular victory last year.

When Artur Beterbiev hailed Khamzat Chimaev for UFC 308 victory

The uninhibited respect and adoration Khamzat Chimaev shows Artur Beterbiev is something that goes both ways between the boxer and MMA fighter. They’ve both been hyping each other and celebrating each others’ wins. So when ‘Borz’ smashed Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, the Khasavyurt native Russian boxer couldn’t hold back his elation and he showered words of praise for the Chechnyan fighter.

“I sincerely congratulate my dear BROTHER, the renowned UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev, on his brilliant victory in the co-main event of the UFC 308 mixed martial arts tournament!” Beterbiev wrote in the post.  “We wish Khamzat new achievements, health, and success in his upcoming fights! Onward to new heights! God bless you, YOURS!”

While Khamzat Chimaev offered words of motivation to Artur Beterbiev after the latter loss, it’ll be interesting to see how Beterbiev consoles the former if (or when) the undefeated Chechen wolf loses. For now, the #3-ranked middleweight remains undefeated.

What are your thoughts on the camaraderie between Khamzat Chimaev and Artur Beterbiev? Does it warm your heart to see two absolute killers in their respective sports, back each other up? Also, what lies next for Beterbiev? Will he be able to claim his lost titles back? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.