As we saw at UFC 279, Khamzat Chimaev can be a bit of a hothead.
That’s why “Borz” told a nosy inquisitor he would “smash” former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov during an Instagram Live chat back in 2021. Not surprisingly, the media latched on to those comments and turned a molehill into a mountain.
Chimaev blames his youth and inexperience.
“I was young, I lacked experience,” Chimaev revealed in an interview with Adam Zubayraev (via Red Corner MMA). “I just broke into the UFC, they started comparing me with Khabib and other fighters. With Adlan Amagov, in particular. Of course, when you achieve some good results, they say ‘oh, he’s like Khabib or Adlan Amagov.’ But everyone has their own achievement. I’ve got mine, Khabib and Adlan has got theirs. Every fighter wants to create his own legacy.”
Chimaev later apologized for his comments.
“It doesn’t feel good to be compared to anybody else,” Chimaev continued. “I just got triggered as someone said that Khabib would smash me, so I responded to that dude. Although I should have not done it. I said, ‘Okay, if Khabib wants to smash me, I am ready to smash him,’ and they just hyped that up as if I challenged him. All the media outlets made it viral, ‘Khamzat wants to smash Khabib.’ I would neger fight Khabib. I would not fight my countrymen.”
Not unless it was a cageside scuffle in Abu Dhabi.
The 30 year-old Chimaev (13-0) returns to fight former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, at the upcoming UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) event, locked and loaded for Sat., Oct. 26, 2024 from inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
For much more on that upcoming fight click here.