Athletes
Khamzat Chimaev | Journey To The Title Shot
Middleweight Khamzat Chimaev Has Had A Wild Climb Among The Division's Best Ahead Of His Shot At UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev had probably one the craziest starts to his UFC journey.
Ever since he made his debut back in 2020, people have pointed him out as someone that could potentially claim UFC gold one day.
It’s been an up and down journey lately for “Borz,” but the time has come for him to get his championship opportunity as he prepares to face middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago. It’ll be no easy task, as Du Plessis has already taken out high-level contenders such as Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. But before Chimaev puts his undefeated record on the line inside United Center, let’s take a look back at his journey to the title shot.
An Unstoppable Rookie Campaign
2020. The year of unprecedented things, including the arrival of Chimaev to the UFC. He made his UFC debut on July 16, 2020, against John Phillips, with this fight being contested at middleweight. Throughout his UFC career, Chimaev has spent time competing at both middleweight and welterweight. Chimaev put on a memorable performance in his debut, picking up a second-round submission and a Performance of the Night bonus, but what happened next was even more impressive.
Order UFC 319: Du Plessis vs Chimaev
Ten days later, Chimaev returned to competition once again. He broke the record for quickest turnaround between UFC wins in the modern era. And he once again did things flawlessly, earning a TKO victory in round one, and racking up another performance bonus. Two months later, “Borz” returned once again, adding to his already electric highlight reel when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in only 17 seconds.
Return To Middleweight
The next few years wouldn’t be as active for Chimaev, who dealt with a variety of health issues that limited his ability to fight as frequently. He competed once in 2021, submitting Li Jingliang in the first round. In 2022, he went three rounds for the first time in his career against former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors. Following that fight, Chimaev was set to face Nate Diaz at UFC 279, but issues on the scale led to a chaotic turn of events, where he ended up facing Kevin Holland at 180 pounds.
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From that moment on, Chimaev has spent his career competing at 185 pounds. His return to the division came against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, after “The Nigeran Nightmare” stepped in on short notice to face “Borz” after Paulo Costa had to withdraw. Chimaev dominated the opening round, but things evened out between the two throughout the second and third rounds, each finding pockets of success. It was ultimately Chimaev’s takedowns and wrestling that allowed him to get the nod on the scorecards, with one judge having a score of 28-28. With Du Plessis sitting atop the throne, Chimaev turned all eyes to securing a title shot.
Title Shot Next
It would take one more fight for Chimaev to solidify his spot in the middleweight title conversation, and there’s no better way to do that than by facing a former champion. After defeating Usman, the 31-year-old was supposed to face Robert Whittaker at UFC’s first event in Saudi Arabia, but health reasons got in the way, and he had to withdraw. The bout was rescheduled for UFC 308 last October in Abu Dhabi, and he passed with flying colors, locking up a nasty face crank in the first round, that led to an immediate tap out from “The Reaper”.
It marked his 14th win, and with his undefeated record intact, all signs pointed to a shot at the belt next.
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