Khamzat Chimaev maintains an animated, brash, no-nonsense persona. When the cameras are on, ‘Borz’ does not hesitate to steal the spotlight with his performances and fiery post-fight callouts. But as we all know who he is when the lights are on, fans wonder how the Chechen Emirati carries himself when the cameras are off. Well, one of his former opponents has a story to tell.

The reigning middleweight champion’s former adversary, Gerald Meerschaert, opened up about a tense moment during the COVID era when things suddenly escalated. ‘GM3’ revealed that he was hanging out with Brendan Allen in the hallways when they crossed paths with Chimaev and his team. What followed was a brief but heated verbal exchange. 

Gerald Meerschaert reveals getting into an off-camera confrontation with Khamzat Chimaev 

“He walks up to me, and kinda gets in my face like we start talking s—t back and forth,” Meerschaert said on The Casuals MMA podcast. “It was like the dumbest s—t talk when two guys see each other. I don’t know exactly what he said. I probably said some dumb s—t. But we were both like, he got aggressive. I was kinda like, ‘Who’s this for?’

“In the back of my head, there’s nobody else here. So, he’s just doing it for the love of the game. He’s doing this thing no matter who’s there or not, better than any cameras. But it’s like he does this. He walks away and his coach is like, ‘Nice to meet you.’ I was confused. Like they were so nice, why is he like this?” ‘GM3’ added.

For those who may not remember, Gerald Meerschaert fought Khamzat Chimaev in September 2020 at UFC Vegas 11. At that time, the world was deep in the COVID-19 pandemic, and the UFC was running tightly controlled events at the Apex. The 38-year-old veteran’s story fits right into that timeline. And if anything, it seems ‘Borz’ channeled that same edge into the fight itself, starching Meerschaert in the first round with a thudding knockout.

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So when ‘GM3’ says Chimaev brings that aggression even off camera, it only reinforces the champion’s relentless persona. And it’s not long ago that we saw flashes of it again. Recently, Chimaev got into a confrontation with Ian Garry at UFC Qatar after the Irishman attempted to congratulate his teammate Arman Tsarukyan following a win over Dan Hooker.

Still, while the undefeated phenom’s former opponent projects the middleweight champ’s persona over a scuffle, it appears that Chimaev generally comes across as calm and respectful when interacting with fans. But as Chimaev plots his return after Ramadan, the temperature could rise again, especially with another bitter rival claiming he is the one man capable of handing ‘Borz’ his first loss.

‘Borz’s bitter rival prepares to give him the first-ever loss 

Nearly a decade of competing as a pro MMA fighter, Khamzat Chimaev is yet to be tamed by any opponent. The Emirati phenom maintains a perfect 15-0 record, with only Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman pushing him into close fights. The rest? Pure domination. After every Chimaev fight, fans are left asking: Is there anyone who can beat him?

Well, Sean Strickland believes he might be that man. And interestingly, he also thinks his UFC Houston opponent, Anthony Hernandez, is a better wrestler than the undefeated star.

“That would be a big fight,” Strickland told ESPN MMA of Chimaev. “I think I’m probably the only one that could beat Chimaev. I honestly think ‘Fluffy’ is a better wrestler than Chimaev. I think pace-wise, style-wise, over five rounds, ‘Fluffy’ is probably better. But on the feet, I think Chimaev might take him in the standup, maybe a decision,” the former champ concluded.

Now, the Mexican-American standout is definitely one of the best fighters in the 185-pound division. But is he actually better than Chimaev? That is something we can only find out if they eventually face each other. Or perhaps if Sean Strickland outgrapples ‘Fluffy’ on February 21 and proves himself to be real competition for the champ, settling their ongoing beef in the process.

That said, do you think Khamzat Chimaev will be even more aggressive and thirsty for a finish in his next fight? Let us know in the comments section below.