Khamzat Chimaev, a middleweight fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has asserted that he was aware that Sean Strickland would prevail against Israel Adesanya in their fight for the middleweight title, but only under one condition.
A fight between two middleweights was the main event at UFC 293, and Strickland was the one who dominated the fight from the very first round. Chimaev stipulated that if ‘Tarzan’ made it through the first round, there was a high probability that he would win any subsequent rounds.
Within the context of an interview with Muhammad Hijab, Chimaev provided his assessment of Sean Strickland as a fighter, based on his experience training with the champion:
“Something unusual was going to happen, and I knew that this fight was going to take place. On the other hand, I was thinking that if Sean Strickland did not get knocked down in the first round, I would be very confident that he would win the fight. However, I did not say anything to anyone; I was simply trying to prevent myself from stating that it is taking place. Therefore, he emerged victorious from the battle. In the same vein, he is a good fighter and not a poor one. Inshallah, however, we do not struggle with this issue.
Chimaev also announced that he will compete against the winner of the championship defense that Strickland will be defending against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 29 the following weekend:
“100%. In the event that he receives the battle at this moment, who is going to emerge victorious? Du Plessis, if he prevails over this individual, we will definitely engage in a fight. A fight has been promised to me, and at this point, we are going to wait to see who emerges victorious before we take possession of the belt.
Khamzat Chimaev expresses grief over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza
In addition, Khamzat Chimaev discussed the ever-increasing number of Palestinians who have lost their lives in Gaza.
By drawing parallels between the Palestinian plight and his own personal experience of being surrounded by conflict, he conveyed his sorrow and extended his support to the Palestinian cause. Prior to moving to Sweden with his family when he was 18 years old, Chimaev lived through a significant portion of the Second Chechen War in his native Chechnya.
According to the statement made by the unbeaten UFC fighter to Muhammad Hijab during the same interview:
” You can feel it in your heart, how difficult it is. Everybody is aware of the current situation in Palestine at this point. The country that I am from is almost identical to this one; we have experienced the same things. The war was also going on in the country at the same time. [In the event that] anybody is aware of it, then we are aware of that. That is a challenge. Inshallah (God willing), we pray that it will be ended soon, and inshallah, we pray every day. You know, children are dying. My brother, I am at a loss for words. I simply do not have any words for that man.
