Khamzat Chimaev, the undefeated fighter of Chechen origin, immigrated to Sweden as a youth. After winning multiple wrestling championships, Chimaev transitioned to MMA under Andreas Michael, the head coach of Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden.
Chimaev’s most recent bout was at UFC 294, which he won by majority decision against Kamaru Usman. Paulo Costa was the original opponent for Chimaev but had to withdraw due to a staph infection, forcing the UFC to bring in Usman on 10 days’ notice.
Khamzat Chimaev brutally calls out Sean Strickland’s ‘Macho Man’ act
Khamzat Chimaev kept a close eye on the recent UFC 297 middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Chimaev brutally trolled Sean Strickland, who lost the title to Plessis. “He (Sean Strickland) went to his coach, man. He went to his coach, ‘Please tell the guy, man, go easy, go easy,” Chimaev said regarding what happened when Strickland and Chimaev sparred at Extreme Couture.
“He’s lying, man, he’s lying. He’s trying to be like, ‘I’m the man, I’m this, I’m that, I’m against the Gays, he’s trying to be a Macho Man,” Chimaev further bashed Strickland calling his homophobic stance as a Macho Man act by the American. “You’re not MCH, man. When I punched your heart, you went to your coach and said, ‘Please tell the guy, go easy, easy,” Chimaev went on to bash Strickland.
Khamzat Chimaev goes OFF on Sean Strickland.
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 23, 2024
1) Says he was beating Strickland up in the gym everyday, to the point where he asked his coach to tell Khamzat go easy on him
2) Says that Sean Strickland’s “macho man” act of hating gays and being manly is all fake
🎥 @espnmma pic.twitter.com/1oCtFhw0S9
“I beat you up, you were running from me. I beat you in your home, I beat you in your gym. Nobody never comes to my gym and tries to beat me up,” Chimaev further said of the sparring session they had. The Chechen fighter even stated that he beat up Strickland in his home which nobody would do to Chimaev himself.
Khamzat Chimaev says he was beating Strickland up in the gym everyday, to the point where he asked his coach to tell Khamzat go easy on him, and that Sean Strickland's "macho man" act is all fake 😨
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) January 23, 2024
After he defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, Khamzat Chimaev was promised a title shot by UFC CEO Dana White but Chimaev suffered an injury and needed surgery to recover. Chimaev recently called out Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title via tweet which was brushed off by DDP at the post-fight press conference.
Khamzat Chimaev not impressed by Strickland vs Du Plessis UFC 297
Sean Strickland was not the only fighter bashed by Khamzat Chimaev in his interview with Brett Okamoto. Chimaev was very unimpressed by the performance of Dricus du Plessis as well. “For me, Strickland won the fight, but that was a close fight for both,” Chimaev said while expressing his thoughts regarding the middleweight title fight at UFC 297.
Nonetheless, he agreed with the consensus that it was a close fight. “Nothing special, nothing making me like this guy(du Plessis) more than somebody else,” Chimaev went on to say that he was unimpressed by the performance of the South African middleweight fighter.
'Nothing special': Khamzat Chimaev unimpressed by #UFC297's Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland https://t.co/SVZk1FgEfZ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 23, 2024
“So, they both have a lot of things I can see, like I can finish them,” Chimaev further said, stating that he saw holes in both Strickland and Plessis, and he could very well finish either of them if he fought them.
It needs to be noted that Chimaev does not have a ranked win in the middleweight division. ‘Borz’ might have to face Jared Cannonier, Strickland, Robert Whittaker, or Paulo Costa before he fights for the title.
Do you think Khmazat Chiamev will become a UFC champion? Leave your prediction below!
