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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 30: Khamzat Chimaev of Sweden reacts after his victory over Li Jingliang of China in a welterweight fight during the UFC 267 event at Etihad Arena on October 30, 2021 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 30: Khamzat Chimaev of Sweden reacts after his victory over Li Jingliang of China in a welterweight fight during the UFC 267 event at Etihad Arena on October 30, 2021 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Khamzat Chimaev has quickly become one of the most talked-about and controversial figures in the UFC. The Swedish fighter made a big impression in his UFC fights, most of which he won in a dominant fashion. However, his meteoric rise to fame has been somewhat dampened by some recent events.
Khamzat Chimaev missed weight at UFC 279 by several pounds. Because of this, the entire fight card was changed. Chimaev faced Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout, but received a lot of criticism for this. Ever since then, Chimaev has failed to fight an opponent for himself. The UFC fighter now wishes to fight in the middleweight division. But that did not stop Masvidal from lashing out at Chimaev.
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Khamzat Chimaev and Jorge Masvidal going at each other
Jorge Masvidal recently called out Chimaev for challenging the middleweight champion Alex Pereira. Masvidal did not hold back against Chimaev and claimed that he lacks experience in the weight class. ‘Gamebred’ also mentioned Chimaev’s weight miss.
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“I saw (Khamzat Chimaev) do a comment that he was calling out Alex (Pereira). Who the f*** are you? He is the world champion. You don’t even have a win over the top 15 (middleweights). You can’t miss weight by 8.5 pounds and call for title shots.”
Masvidal‘s comments were met with a strong response from Chimaev. The newly turned middleweight took to social media to call out Masvidal for his lack of success in recent fights. Chimaev stated that Masvidal was “no longer a gangster,” and that he needed to focus on winning fights before talking about weight or title shots. “He is no longer a gangster talking about weight gangsters no matter what weight he fights,” wrote Chimaev on MMA Fighting’s post.
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What exactly did Khamzat Chimaev say to Alex Pereira?
Initially, Chimaev made headlines when he talked about middleweight champion Alex Pereira. In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Chimaev expressed his confidence in his ability to beat Pereira. According to Chimaev, he can beat Pereira in the first round without throwing a single punch.
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 28: Khamzat Chimaev of Chechnya interacts with media during the UFC 267 press conference at Etihad Arena on October 28, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Overall, it’s clear that Khamzat Chimaev is a fighter who is not afraid to speak his mind. His heavy interest in middleweight and his comments about Alex Pereira have sparked controversy and debate. However, there is no denying that he has the potential to be one of the most dominant fighters in the sport. While ‘Borz’ has previously fought at middleweight, it would be interesting to see how he would perform against the top fighters.
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Watch This Story – Khamzat Chimaev Breaks Silence As Dana White Sends Him To Middleweight
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