Khamzat Chimaev proved he was more than just a Khabib Nurmagomedov clone this past weekend.
Chimaev took on Gerald Meerschaert on the main card of UFC Vegas 11 on Saturday night in what was his third fight in just two months since debuting for the promotion.
There was a lot of intrigue in this particular fight as Meerschaert was a submission specialist and a clear step up from Chimaev’s previous opponents.
In the end, it didn’t matter as “The Wolf” needed just 17 seconds to deliver a statement first-round knockout that went viral. Unlike his previous two fights, which were maulings on the ground, Chimaev showed he could strike and had legitimate knockout power too.
The main goal? To show that he is his own fighter and not just another version of Nurmagomedov.
“Yeah because everybody say, ‘You are Khabib, Khabib No. 2,’ something like that – but I am Khamzat,” Chimaev said at the UFC Vegas 11 post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting). “I can knock out people. Smash the people. Everything. I have everything.”
It certainly makes Chimaev an even more dangerous foe for future opponents as he plans on becoming a two-division champion in the future. Given how he’s going, it wouldn’t be a surprise at this rate.
What do you make of Chimaev’s comments?