After what seemed like an eternity, Khamzat Chimaev is finally going to make his long-awaited comeback to the octagon. Chimaev won an excellent first-round submission victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279, and he took a lengthy break after the fight. Chimaev’s intentions took an unexpected turn when he was paired against Holland when ‘Borz’ missed weight by a significant 7.5 pounds. Originally, Chimaev was supposed to meet former UFC star Nate Diaz. However, Chimaev’s plans took an unexpected turn when he was matched against Holland.
In the meantime, Diaz went on to compete against another mixed martial arts veteran named Tony Ferguson. In the final fight of his UFC contract, Diaz won an impressive submission victory in the fourth round against Ferguson.
Chimaev’s weight miscalculation was widely reported in the media, earning him the ire of a significant number of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans. There is widespread belief that Chimaev was encouraged by the UFC to look into the middleweight division as a potential new home as a direct result of this incident.
Nevertheless, at a recent pre-fight media scrum, Chimaev dropped hints that his decision to not cut weight the night before the Nate Diaz bout was not his choice, implying that the UFC may have been involved in orchestrating the weight-related drama. Chimaev was referring to the fact that Diaz was his opponent in the fight. His hesitation to elaborate lends credence to the explosive allegation that the UFC may have been complicit in the weight inaccuracy.
Before UFC 294, Khamzat Chimaev gave a statement to the media in which he said:
“Everyone talks about [why] I didn’t make weight once in my life, and there were some plans to do that in that way,” she said. “There were some plans to do that in that way.” It’s not in the cards for me, but I can’t cover everything right now.”
Khamzat Chimaev suggests Kamaru Usman took short notice UFC 294 fight for payday
Ahead of his battle against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, Khamzat Chimaev stated that Usman, a former welterweight champion, came in as a last-minute substitute in order to cash in on the “different-level money” connected with facing him. Chimaev and Usman were scheduled to face each other.
Chimaev disclosed that if Usman had held the belt, he would have pondered stepping down to the welterweight class in order to continue his career. In addition to this, he underlined that Usman is not as well-known of a name in the division as a result of his failure to reclaim the title from Leon Edwards.
Although Chimaev predicts a battle to be competitive, he implies that financial incentives play a crucial role in combatants’ decisions, saying that money may outshine titles and histories. Chimaev believes that money can outshine titles and histories. During his remarks to the assembled media prior to the fight, Chimaev stated:
“The only reason he is here is to make money. That has a significant amount of money attached to it. When someone challenges me to a fight, I have a feeling that he makes a lot of money. It’s a distinct tier of currency. This is the reason why he is present. Of course, he comes to win; that’s why everyone comes to a fight in the first place. However, he already has an explanation and he’s getting paid, so I guess that’s why he comes.
He continued:
“Everyone here, a lot of men talk about ‘My history, my belt, this s,’ and when somebody puts the money out, millions of dollars, they talk about their past, their belt, and their s. One day, everyone will forget about that, but that individual will still have his money to provide for his family. I believe that is the reason he is present here.
