Khamzat Chimaev has emerged as perhaps the most dominant grappling force in the UFC’s current landscape. After all, ‘Borz’ looks nigh unstoppable on the ground, as he proved yet again by submitting Robert Whittaker in their UFC 308 clash last year. And it seems the undefeated 185-lbs juggernaut goes to great lengths to make sure his ground game is insurmountable.

When a reporter asked ‘Borz’ who was the last person to submit him in training, this is what Chimaev had to say.

“Anyone who submits me during training gets a million rubles from me. It hasn’t happened in a long time. When I’m fooling around with young guys, I give up my neck, but when we have a serious grappling match, I offer a million rubles to anyone. Let them come to the gym and try. Who came closest to submitting me? The guy sitting next to me [Vagaev]. I won’t point fingers, or it’ll be his moment of fame,” he said at the presser after the ACA 183 event in Russia.

Which is quite an incentive to submit Chimaev. Promising a million roubles (or about 10k USD), to anyone who submits him is a good way to make sure your opponent goes hard as possible at you. And the harder you work in camp, as they say, the easier the fight is. No wonder ‘Borz’ has such a scary ground game.

And the undefeated middleweight will need every bit of his legendary ground game and strength given what is in store for him in the near future. ‘Borz’, of course, is on the cusp of launching into the stratosphere. If he can keep his unbeaten streak for even a couple more fights, the Chechnya native could Conor McGregor-level of popularity. And that is exactly what Chimaev’s plan is, and the middleweight is in a hurry to realize it.

Khamzat Chimaev’s ambitious plans for 2025

“After the Strickland vs. Du Plessis fight, I will have a fight in May or June against the champion, and then fight in October in Abu Dhabi. Win and defend the belt, those are the plans for this year,” Chimaev told MMA YouTuber Aslanbek Badaev in an interview in their native Russian.

Middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland are set to rematch this weekend. And the winner of that fight will probably have to fight Khamzat Chimaev next. At least that is what UFC CEO Dana White has strongly indicated, although an official #1 contender Chimaev vs. Nassourdine Imavov clash isn’t completely off the table.

But if Chimaev, the single most hyped fighter in the history of the sport, does fight for and win the title by mid-2025, the Chimaev hype train will have become a spaceship. Add to that a title defense by the end of the year, and the Emirati middleweight may find himself in the middleweight GOAT conversation. Not to mention the UFC will have found its next face. All that stands between Chimaev and all that may be Sean Strickland or Dricus Du Plessis- depending on who wins this weekend. What do you think about Khamzat Chimaev’s unique way of keeping his grappling sharp?