Athletes
Khamzat Chimaev's Fab Five
Each Of Khamzat Chimaev's UFC Fights Have Been Incredible. We Break Each One Of Them Down Before UFC 279
Editor Note: This article was published prior to the UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson event change. Nate Diaz will now fight Tony Ferguson in the main event, Khamzat Chimaev will fight Kevin Holland in a catchweight (180) co-main event and Li Jingliang will fight Daniel Rodriguez in a catchweight (180) bout. | Order UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson
UFC Announces Updates To UFC 279
Usually once one of these pieces is done on a main event fighter, he or she has accumulated twice as many fights as we allow on a Fab Five list, but Khamzat Chimaev has done nothing according to the typical plan, so as he approaches his Saturday main event against Nate Diaz, we present you not with his top five performances in the Octagon and how we saw them on fight night, but all of them, and, spoiler alert…they were all spectacular.
2020
WSub2 John Phillips
Unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev was flawless in his UFC debut, submitting John Phillips in the second round of their middleweight bout.
Chimaev’s first offensive burst in the Octagon was an explosive one, as he threw a kick followed by a thudding takedown. Chimaev followed up with strikes that bloodied the Welshman and the Sweden product kept them coming until the horn intervened.
Order UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson | Get Your Tickets Here
After landing 72 strikes in the opening round, Chimaev put the fight back on the mat as soon as the second stanza began, and moments later, he locked in a D’Arce choke and Phillips tapped out. The official time was 1:12.
With the win, Chimaev moves to 7-0. Phillips falls to 22-10, 1 NC.
TKO1 Rhys McKee
Apparently Khamzat Chimaev is as dangerous at welterweight as he is at middleweight, and in stopping newcomer Rhys McKee just 10 days after his UFC debut victory over John Phillips, he continues to look like the next big thing in the Octagon.
It took just 14 seconds for Chimaev to take McKee down and the rude welcome continued with strikes on his grounded foe. With three minutes, left Chimaev got into the mount and kept the ground-and-pound assault coming until referee Rich Mitchell stepped in at 3:09 of round one.
RELATED: Reasons To Watch UFC 279 | Fight By Fight Preview | Chimaev Isn't Here To Be A Normal Fighter
With the win, Chechnya’s Chimaev moves to 8-0 and sets the modern-day UFC record for quickest turnaround between victories. Northern Ireland’s McKee falls to 10-3-1.
KO1 Gerald Meerschaert
If anyone doubted that Swedish phenom Khamzat Chimaev was for real, he silenced those doubters in 17 seconds, the time it took to knock out Gerald Meerschaert and notch his third UFC win in 66 days.
Chimaev pressured Meerschaert at the start, but instead of shooting a takedown, he blasted his foe with a flush right hand that put the middleweight veteran down and out.
Chimaev moves to 9-0 with the win. Meerschaert falls to 31-14.
2021
WSub1 Li Jingliang
It was another flawless victory for unbeaten welterweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev, who was in control from the opening seconds of his bout against Li Jingliang until he submitted him later in the first round, moving to 10-0 in the process.
UFC 279 FREE FIGHTS: Tony Ferguson vs Katsunori Kikuno | Li Jingliang vs Muslim Salikhov | Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns | Khamzat Chimaev vs Li Jingliang | Nate Diaz vs Cowboy Cerrone | Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor
Chimaev opened the fight with a takedown of the No.11-ranked Li (18-7), and after some steady groundwork, he flattened his foe out just before the midway point of the round, and after a series of strikes he sunk in the rear naked choke that ended the fight at the 3:16 mark of the opening stanza.
2022
WUD3 Gilbert Burns
If rising welterweight star Khamzat Chimaev wanted a war from Gilbert Burns, he got one, but he left the Octagon with his unbeaten record intact as he won a close, but unanimous decision over the former world title challenger.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for the No.11-ranked Chimaev, now 11-0. The No.2-ranked Burns falls to 20-5.
It took only three strikes for Chimaev to get close for a takedown, and a minute in, he had dragged Burns to the mat. The Brazilian pulled out all the stops to get free and 90 seconds in, he got his wish and the two were standing again. The welterweights traded, Burns getting in some solid shots, and Chimaev responded in kind. With a minute to go, a right hand dropped Burns, and while “Durinho” recovered quickly, it was a big moment for Chimaev.
View Chimaev's Athlete Profile Here
The standup exchanges drew roars from the crowd in round two, and rightfully so, as each man tagged the other. Two minutes in, Burns dropped Chimaev briefly and scored with more hard shots, but just as quickly, Chimaev roared back. With less than two minutes left, the fight went to the mat briefly, with Burns using an upkick to get to his feet. As they squared off, a bloodied Burns smiled confidently at the bloodied Chimaev, yet just as “Borz” went on the attack, Burns scored another knockdown just as the round closed.
In the second minute of the third round, a tired Burns was briefly in trouble, but he shook off the incoming fire from Chimaev, who kept the pressure on. Burns wasn’t going anywhere, though, and the two took turns throwing, Burns surging in the final minute to the appreciation of the crowd.
UFC 279: Diaz vs Ferguson took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 10, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
Tags
