There is a good reason that Khamzat Chimaev‘s past few fights have been in the UAE. That’s due to the fact that ‘Borz’ is banned from entering USA! Why? Well, two main reasons – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the circles ‘Borz’ moves in. Many high-ranking Russian officials and the people associated with them were sanctioned by the US government, including Ramzan Kadyrov, the dictator of Chimaev’s native Chechnya, which is a Russian province.

And Chimaev, who held a Russian passport until recently, reportedly found himself banned from the US precisely because of his closeness to Kadyrov. However, it seems that things may may well be changing for the Chechen wolf, who took to social media to announce that he is officially a citizen of the UAE now.

“It is my honour and privilege to be able to represent this beautiful nation both as an athlete and a citizen. I would like to thank the UAE for its support and I will do my best to make this country proud of me,” ‘Borz’ wrote on Instagram along with pictures of his Emirati passport.

With Chimaev’s change of citizenship, does this mean he will now be allowed into the States? Well, not quite. It may certainly help Chimaev’s case that he is now a citizen of a country friendly to the US instead of its chief geopolitical foe. But on the other hand, if the main reason behind Chimaev’s ban from entering US was his amity with Kadyrov, that hasn’t really changed much. At least there is no evidence that his relationship with the Chechnyan dictator has deteriorated.

Plenty of Russian fighters fight in the UFC and are allowed in America. This indicates that nationality wasn’t really the reason ‘Borz’ was denied entry. So even changing his passports probably won’t do much good for Khamzat Chimaev. On the other hand, there is another, more important development inside the USA which may have guaranteed the #3-ranked middleweight will be able to enter the US.

Why Donald Trump’s election could mean Khamzat Chimaev can finally enter the USA

Donald Trump loves Dana White and the UFC. And the feeling is mutual. Since Trump is now the President of the United States, partly because of the UFC world throwing its weight behind him, he may well be more inclined to take a more lenient view of Chimaev entering the United States.

In fact, the 47th President seems to like ‘Borz’ a lot, calling him “a great fighter” on Instagram not too long ago. ‘Borz’ had even (perhaps jokingly) claimed that if Trump won the election, that would be his best shot at fighting in the US. Now it is time to see if the Chechen’s faith in Trump was well-placed.

Of course, the US government has definite policies regarding who can and cannot enter the United States. And since Trump is President now, he has very important matters to take care of and the fate of one UFC fighter may not be his highest priority. But if Dana White calls him and requests Trump find a way to gran Khamzat Chimaev into the USA, it is pretty likely that the President would oblige his friend. What do you think about Khamzat Chimaev announcing he is an Emirati citizen now?