Khamzat Chimaev has terrorized two weight classes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He made his debut in the middleweight division against John Phillips. Chimaev earned a dominating victory in the fight as he submitted Philips in the second round.
However, he did not stop there. The 27-year old took a fight on the very next card within a span of 10 days. The Chechen fighter faced Rhys McKee in the welterweight division and knocked him out in the first round.
His first two performances impressed the fans immensely, and Chimaev’s ability to fight in two weight classes was the talk of the town. But fans might not be aware of his credentials as a freestyle wrestler.
A look at the Wrestling and pre-UFC MMA career of Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev is originally from Chechnya. He was born on May 1, 1994. Chimaev’s athletic talents were apparent from his childhood, and his move to Sweden allowed him to flourish. Similar to his run in MMA, Chimaev wrestled in two weight classes as well. He competed in the 92 kg and 86 kg weight classes. Khamzat has 3 gold medals in his wrestling career.
He has competed 3 times in the Swedish Freestyle National Championships across two weight classes in 2015, 2016 and 2018 and won all of them. In his wrestling career, he has attained 12 victories without any defeats. The Chechen’s victories include 3 pinfalls and 7 technical falls.
Although Chimaev has hung up his wrestling shoes, he is still a real threat on the mat. Not only does he implement his impeccable ground skills during the MMA fights, but Khamzat is still a beast when it comes to pure wrestling. That was evident when he took on UFC middleweight fighter Jack Hermansson in a wrestling match. He pinned Hermansson down without any trouble whatsoever.
After 3 amateur flights, Khamzat Chimaev turned pro in 2018. He won his first two professional fights via stoppages and moved to the Brave Combat Federation where he had 4 fights. During that period, Chimaev dominated almost all of his opponents except Ikram Aliskerov. Ikram himself is an accomplished combat athlete with 11 victories in 12 matches. His only loss came against Chimaev in a brutal fight. Ikram was the only fighter to give some trouble to Chimaev. Chimaev landed a vicious uppercut to knock him out.
Other than being an accomplished freestyle wrestler, Khamzat Chimaev is also a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner. He is currently a purple belt. Other than that, Khamzat Chimaev has also competed in several Judo competitions. Chimaev also trains with accomplished fighters such as the aforementioned Jack Hermansson. In a clip shortly after his debut, Khamzat was seen sparring with Alexander Gustafsson and dropping him with a body kick.
‘The Borz’ will fight Gilbert Burns at UFC 273
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In terms of his UFC career, Khamzat Chimaev has had 4 fights in the UFC so far. His latest victory came against Li Jingliang, where Chimaev won via RNC (Rear Naked Choke). He is taking rapid strides towards the title and is scheduled to be facing Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
A victory over Burns will surely guarantee a title shot against the champion, Kamaru Usman. With Usman having fought almost every ranked opponent, it will certainly be an intriguing matchup.