“I’m 12-0, I didn’t get the title fight,” said Khamzat Chimaev a couple of years ago, asking Dana White for a fight for the biggest prize in the UFC. He seemed eager for it. However, the Chechen star’s tune has changed since then, as he claims that all he wants to do is make money, while ignoring the value of having the middleweight belt around his waist. In this regard, Chimaev recently made a bizarre claim about his plans after winning the belt, which left a UFC Hall of Famer astonished.

Khamzat Chimaev has put in a lot of work ahead of his fight this weekend against Dricus du Plessis. With many people pointing out the issues he has with his gas tank, ‘Borz’ even worked on improving his cardio by working with famous strength and conditioning coach, Sam Calavitta. One might think that a fighter working so hard ahead of a title fight means that he really wants the belt, and Daniel Cormier stressed that fact.

But dismissing the value of holding a championship belt during an interview on YouTube, Khamzat Chimaev asked, “I have a question for you, bro. You wanted $10 million or just the belt?” Well, Daniel Cormier replied by claiming that winning the belt automatically helps a fighter earn more. “But the belt leads to $10 million,” he responded. But Chimaev had a different outlook on the whole situation.

The undefeated fighter believes that the toil in the gym will always translate into championship success. But Khamzat Chimaev’s mission is to beat his opponent, without the added pressure of winning the belt, which ensures he can put on a great performance and entertain the fans to make sure that he goes home with a fat check. And as far as the title is concerned, ‘Borz’ claims that he might just give the belt to someone in his hometown in Chechnya because it is worth more to them and to him.

Khamzat Chimaev is a man of the people, as he’s been building some infrastructure back home for the boys in his village who want to train in wrestling. And yes, his plans are similar to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s, who spent $5 million on a training facility in Sildi. “It’s my time to give back, that’s why I’m building the gym. This gym I’m building in my village for the young people, boys become good wrestlers here,” Chimaev had revealed a few days ago.

“If you work hard, belt is coming, bro. I need to beat the guy just after that. I don’t need [to] think about the belt and make some pressure on my head. I don’t need that belt. So if I take it and maybe bring that back to my country and give it [to] someone [else],” Khamzat Chimaev explained to Daniel Cormier. “For me, it’s not a crazy [feeling to bring the title home]… [It will be huge] for my people. Of course, the first guy who become a UFC champion from Chechnya. So that’s big for them.”

The 31-year-old’s focus on beating his opponent and putting on a show may not be the wrong approach ahead of this weekend’s title fight. That’s because the CEO, Dana White, seems to be expecting an action-packed matchup in the main event at UFC 319.

Dana White expresses excitement about Khamzat Chimaev fighting in the US

The UFC 319 middleweight title fight is one of the most talked-about fights of the year. One of those reasons includes Khamzat Chimaev’s return to the United States after almost three years, and Dana White seemed over the moon while talking about it during an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast. The 56-year-old has also guaranteed the fans that Borz’s return to the US for the fight this weekend will not disappoint, along with the other fights on the card.

“It is hard to not talk about this main event. Khamzat Chimaev is back, actually fighting in the United States,” said Dana White. “That fight is gonna be badass. There is no way that the main event is not the Fight of the Night. The card is gonna be badass…but with all the great undercard fights, I would still say it’s impossible for the main event not to be the Fight of the Night.”

It will all come down to this Saturday at the iconic United Center. Dricus du Plessis mentioned, after getting honored in the arena, that this fight is perhaps his biggest one in his MMA career. Could that add some pressure on him against Khamzat Chimaev? That remains to be seen.