Khamzat Chimaev looks back on his street-fighting days.
Khamzat Chimaev (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is undefeated on the streets of Chechnya as well as inside the octagon.
The surging UFC welterweight prospect says he used to fight on the streets every day and recalls a time when he beat up an eleventh-grader when he was in just fifth grade.
“Everyday, we had fights on the streets of Chechnya,” Chimaev told Hustle MMA during a recent interview (h/t Sportskeeda). “We created history for ourselves on the streets. I’ve never lost a fight. Thank God, not yet. I definitely didn’t with my character. I fought with the boys. I still know this guy. We are friends now. He is in the 11th grade. I’m in the 5th grade. He was not that big but bigger than me anyway. I’m near the school, I don’t remember, there was a brawl. I say let’s go and we went. He started throwing me from right to left for about 10 minutes. Then he got tired and I started hitting him.”
Dana White is eager to book Chimaev’s next fight but the UFC president is having a hard time finding a suitable opponent. White initially reached out to UFC veteran Nate Diaz but the Stockton slugger turned it down because he believes ‘Borz’ is a ‘rookie’.
“They’re coming at me with [Khamzat], and I’m like, ‘hold on, don’t disrespect me like that, trying to offer me a fight with a rookie.’ I’m cool, you got 4 fights in the UFC. Don’t even talk my name,” Diaz said.
Chimaev, 27, has steamrolled through the competition since making his UFC debut last year and strongly believes he is the future of MMA.
“Everybody, everybody, I come here for everybody. I kill everybody. I’m the champ, I’m the king.” – Khamzat Chimaev. #UFC267
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) October 30, 2021