Khamzat Chimaev is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the UFC welterweight division. The Chechnya-born Swedish fighter has kept moving up the ladder ever since his UFC debut in June 2020. Given his status in the fight world, people pay attention to what he says and a recent Mike Tyson statement captured everyone’s attention.

During a recent podcast on YouTube, Chimaev talked about Mike Tyson. He revealed that ‘Iron’ invited him to his podcast and discussed the reasons for declining the invitation, but later said that he respects the boxing legend. ‘Borz’ also clarified he is not judging the 55-year-old former boxer.

“But I have respect for him, he had to go through a lot. So I guess it was due to that. It could happen to me. Sometimes you see a nice guy and they lose their minds all of a sudden. I’m not judging him. I just didn’t want to go.”

Read More: The Early Career of Khamzat Chimaev Before UFC and MMA

Khamzat Chimaev saying, “It could happen to me” may worry his fans as the #3 ranked welterweight is expected to achieve big things. His win over Burns pushed his career forward, and he is now one of the division’s title contenders.

UFC is planning to pit him against top-ranked welterweight Colby Covington next. Although a title fight against Kamaru Usman might be on the cards soon.

Gilbert Burns casts doubts over Colby Covington – Khamzat Chimaev fight

Prior to the Chimaev-Burns fight, Dana White said that Colby Covington might be the Swede’s next opponent.

However, ‘Durinho‘ doesn’t believe that Covington will be up for the fight against ‘Borz’. He blamed ‘Chaos’ for being selective in his fights, only picking those who are on a bad run of form. Covington has won nine of his last 11 fights, with the two losses coming against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

“I don’t know why, but I just have a feeling he won’t accept the fight. That’s the feeling that I have.”

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Burns believes Covington will decline this fight and he might have to step up to fight Chimaev again. He added, “I think it will be a very tough fight, a very, very close fight. But I just don’t think he’ll say yes. I just don’t think. Maybe Belal (Muhammad) is there and they make Belal vs. Khamzat. I said I’ll be ready for a rematch, so we’ll see. I want big fights, that’s what I’m looking for next. But I don’t think Colby will fight Khamzat.”

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It might be an exquisite battle between ‘Borz’ and ‘Chaos’, as both are elite grapplers with prior wrestling experience. The two are also talented speakers and the fight has the potential to sell a large number of pay-per-views.

What do you think about Khamzat Chimaev’s comments on Mike Tyson? Let us know in the comments section.