In the realm of the UFC, fighters converge from various corners of the globe, striving to etch their names into the annals of both personal glory and national pride. The dark alleyways have propelled certain fighters into the limelight, while simultaneously consigning others to obscurity. Enter Khamzat Chimaev, a name echoing through the dark alleys, once associated with the formidable Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, skepticism looms as one of Nurmagomedov’s former teammates remains skeptical about Chimaev’s meteoric rise to stardom.
Chimaev’s sudden rise to success is a testament to his hard work. “Borz” has been undefeated in his professional career and is often compared with Khabib Nurmagomedov due to their similarities. Regardless, numerous in the industry believe that Chimaev has been underused by the UFC. Let’s dig in to understand the perspective.
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Is Khamzat Chimaev underutilized by the UFC?
Khamzat Chimaev has been in the spotlight since his debut in the UFC. His latest match against “The Nigerian Nightmare” Kamaru Usman resulted in a victory, establishing his presence and winning capabilities. There was a significant promise from Dana White that the winner of their bout would have a direct route to the middleweight title fight. Fans were excited to witness Chimaev’s potential run at the title fight but White had other plans.
Nevertheless, with the announcement of the Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis fight, it seems that Dana White has overlooked Chimaev. This raises the question: What might be the reason behind this decision? Fans speculated that Chimaev’s injury was the reason for it but people who are close to the industry have other thoughts.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former teammate, Josh Thompson believes that Chimaev lacks the energy to be the poster boy. While in conversation with Big John McCarthy on his YouTube channel Weighing In, Thompson said, “I’m not sold on him yet; exactly, I’m not sold on Khamzat Chimaev. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you’re stupid, you’re being a hater.”
He further added “I’ve been in the fight game a long, long time. Fighters come, fighters go. They explode onto the scene, and guess what? Then they linger around for a little bit, hoping to get back on track, and some of them never do. Some have a resurgence; Charles Oliveira is one of the guys that has a resurgence. Oh yeah, a lot of guys have in the past. Never did Melvin Guillard; never did. He came on like fireworks and then just kind of fizzled out and faded away.”
Thompson emphasized that Chimaev might be such a fighter who would most probably fade away with time. “Wolf” is desperate for a title run, however, is he ready for it?
Bo Nickal is skeptical about Chimaev’s title run
Chimaev has been expecting a title shot for the longest time and the fighter has been astute in his words. However, Bo Nickal believes that it’s too soon for “Wolf” and he would need one or two more fights in order to compete for the title shot.
While in a dialogue about fighters on his YouTube handle, Nickal stated, “I know they kind of want to give him the title shot. But I feel like Belal deserves it. Colby won’t fight him. Who else is coming up at 170 right now? He needs like one more fight. Let Belal and Leon fight and then give him somebody else.” Nickal emphasized that Chimaev should fight Ian Garry or Gilbert Burns to prove his worth.
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There have been many observations about Chimaev in recent times and most of it goes towards the negative aspect. What’s your opinion on Khamzat Chimaev?
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Edited by
Joyita Das