Dana White: Khamzat Chimaev Creates “Paranoia” in UFC Fighters

Khamzat Chimaev rose through the ranks in the UFC by rag-dolling his opponents and beating them incontestably. However, Dana White recently revealed that ‘Borz’ found it hard to find an opponent during his early UFC days. The UFC CEO claimed that Chimaev used to make ranked opponents anxious.

The Emirati UFC star is undefeated in the UFC as well as in his overall record. Khamzat Chimaev also claimed to have no problems in fighting anyone who steps up to him. As per Dana White, he could have gotten a chance to fight with top contenders during his rookie year in the promotion. However, that did not happen as per the UFC CEO’s revelation.

Nobody wanted to fight Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev had put on some of the most dominant performances the UFC has ever seen. After witnessing how he dominated his opponents, Dana White wanted to pair him up against ranked contenders in the welterweight division. However, he was unable to do that due to the fighters’ hesitation to square off against Chimaev.

During a recent appearance on Maxx Crosby‘s podcast, Dana White said, “Khamzat Chimaev, when he was unranked and these guys that have to fight him that are ranked… a lot of these guys that are ranked don’t want to take fights with [Khamzat].”

Dana White also mentioned that the reason behind many ranked fighters refusing to take on Khamzat Chimaev was because of paranoia, especially when they thought about being dealt a loss against Chimaev, given that ‘Borz’ is no ordinary competitor. “What it is with professional fighters is, there’s this unbelievable paranoia… It’s paranoia. ‘You’re trying to get me beat,'” White added.

Despite some of the fighters’ reluctance to fight Chimaev, the Emirati fighter continued his undefeated streak and even made a triumphant return to middleweight at UFC 294 against former champion Kamaru Usman. However, we won’t be seeing him fight soon as he recently confirmed snubbing UFC 300.

‘Borz’ to return after Ramadan

For a while, there were speculations that Khamzat Chimaev could feature in UFC 300. These rumors were swirling at a time when the UFC 300 main event was not announced. But days before Dana White confirmed the headlining fight between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill, ‘Borz’ confirmed that he was not going to fight in April. The reason behind it was the holy month of Ramadan.

“I will fight everybody brother. Leon and Du Plessis anyone man. But not in Ramadan. I think Ramadan (is during) UFC 300. So maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia… not fighting in Ramadan anymore,” said Khamzat Chimaev. Hence, fans are now hoping to see ‘Borz’ back in action during the summer.

Read More: UFC News- Khamzat Chimaev “Sabotaging His Own Career” After Confession on Leon Edwards UFC 300 Fight; Fans React

Khamzat Chimaev has been calling for a title shot for a while now, and as per insider reports, his wish may come true. However, if that does not happen, he could be pitted against a top contender or even a former champion. We will have to wait and see how things pan out for the Emirati fighters in the weeks and months to come.

Read More: Dana White Gives Khamzat Chimaev the Green Light for Unprecedented Feat in the UFC – “An Absolute Freak of Nature”