Khamzat Chimaev Confesses Dana White and Co. Knew He ‘Never Chooses His Opponents’ Months Before Robert Whittaker Fight at UFC Saudi Arabia

The unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev claimed in an interview once that he does not choose his opponents in a fight. It’s always Dana White and Co. who select the opponent for him and he just gets into the Octagon to do his job. The Russian-born welterweight was on an ESPN MMA interview two months ago where he shared his idea on choosing a fighter as his competitor.

‘Borz’ is set to fight Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia on June 22 as per a recent announcement from White. He was most recently seen in October scoring a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in a middleweight contest where Usman was a replacement for former title challenger Paulo Costa. This proved that Chimaev was ready to fight any opponent. As we await his return, let us take a look at the time he explained his mindset to Brett Okamoto. 

Khamzat Chimaev will ‘smesh’ anyone

Khamzat Chimaev was asked about his mentality on getting opponents and he said that he was ready to fight everybody. It was not the opponent, but injuries and other situations that kept him out of the cage.

Chimaev is one of the biggest and most exciting names in the UFC at the moment. So he was a natural pitch from many fans for UFC 300. However, that was not meant to be, since it was during Ramadan, and the Chechen, like many other Muslim fighters in the promotion, chose not to fight while fasting.

During the interview, Brett Okamoto asked him, “I think that this confuses people they’re just like, if UFC wants Khamzat to fight, and Khamzat wants to fight, why aren’t we seeing Khamzat fight?”

This is when Chimaev confessed, “I never chose my opponents like there are some people that say you fight Usman who was fighting like 175 or something like that.” Chimaev was casually answering how he got the names of fighters and his opponents and he just accepted them without argument. He also mentioned, that as long as he is healthy and in good shape he is ready for the Octagon.  He always accepts the fighters that his manager brings to him after talking to Dana White.

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The 29-year-old’s optimistic attitude towards fights and his life came out during this interview. He mentioned that he did not mind fighting anyone, that he was human, and that losing and winning was a part of life. His tough experiences have made him not care about trivial things in life. However, he did have one set goal while fighting Usman.

Khamzat Chimaev had one goal for the Kamaru Usman fight

Fans will always reminisce about UFC 294 for two last-minute replacements. The main event changed after the news of Charles Oliveria getting injured during training. He was then replaced by Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev lost his opponent Paulo Costa due to the Brazilian having a serious infection. Chimaev had to fight Kamaru Usman and he was more than ready to do it.

During an interview with Chael Sonnen for ESPN MMA, He was asked if he has any advantage over Usman. Chimaev responded in his usual manner, “It’s like, I don’t know what to say, just come here to smash the guy man, so respect for the guy, takes the fight short notice, and they already have excuses, not Usman, a lot of people say but Usman takes the fight like a warrior, man. People say he doesn’t have a full camp, but for me, it doesn’t matter, I come to finish everyone.”

In hindsight, fighting Usman did more for Chimaev than fighting Costa would have. Chimaev now has a win over one of the most dominant former UFC champions. His next fight is a confirmed title eliminator. With the way things are looking, there is a good chance the Chechen could be middleweight champion by the end of this year, or early next.

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