Khamzat Chimaev had greatly disappointed the MMA realm when he pulled out of his last bout against Robert Whittaker. He overworked himself and fell violently ill just 2 days before the scheduled bout, leaving ‘The Reaper’ to fight Ikram Aliskerov instead. But now, the story has taken a different turn. As the UFC released a fight preview for the co-main event of UFC 308, titled, ‘Prepared For A Dog Fight’, the fighting community’s excitement seemed to know no bounds.

In the video, the Chechen Wolf could be heard setting the tone for his fight against Whittaker. And he did prepare himself to finish the fight. He said, “I love trying to be somebody else. I give the show, the fans like it, and I like it too… I’m trying to finish my opponent. And not trying like to pick the points. If I get the chance to finish somebody, I do it.”

Brought up in a war-torn Chechnya, Chimaev began training in the realm of wrestling at the age of 5. Needless to say, this early push was what propelled him towards an undefeated streak in the UFC. His wrestling is nothing short of legendary, and he seems to know this pretty well. “I’m the best wrestler in the UFC. I’m the best fighter,” he said.

Thereafter,  ‘Borz’ took aim at the middleweight championship title with nothing but confidence beaming out of him. After all, becoming the champion is what every single fighter aspires to achieve. But Khamzat Chimaev’s voice was a warning for Whittaker and the current MW champion, Dricus Du Plessis. He announced, “Since I start MMA, it was my dream to get to the UFC, be a champion. One more fight and then I’m gonna fight for the title… Nobody can stop me!”

But before getting a title shot, Chimaev has to rise victorious over Robert Whittaker. And ‘The Reaper’ isn’t someone who could be taken lightly. After all, Whittaker once ruled the middleweight division as the champion. And this matchup is nothing short of perfect for the Chechen fighter.

Khamzat Chimaev has one advantage over Robert Whittaker

Back in September 2024, the cast of ‘The Brendan Schmitty Show’ made an appearance on Tim Welch’s talk show. One of the topics that they talked about was the matchup between Whittaker and Chimaev. That’s when Schmitty’s confidant, Warlike, claimed, “I think that match is perfectly crafted for Khamzat. Just from everything they did with that matchup.”

But when it came to the venue of the bout, Chimaev had an advantage. The Chechen Wolf acquired citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and immigrated to the UAE. He spent most of his time training in the Arab lands. Whereas, Whittaker would have to acclimatize himself in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, ‘The Reaper’ remained unfazed with his opponent having the home advantage. With his mind set on reclaiming the middleweight championship belt, Whittaker would indeed do his best to defeat the fearsome ‘Borz’. 

Who do you think would win between Chimaev and Whittaker? Will ‘Borz’ be able to extend his undefeated streak at UFC 308? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.