Khamzat Chimaev rose to popularity with his superior grappling skills. The UFC welterweight fighter didn’t hide his desire to go against Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman. However, the turn of events during the main bout of UFC 281 disappointed everyone who thought Adesanya would remain the owner of the belt. The ‘Borz’ was indeed one of the many who faced disappointment.

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In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, the Swedish warrior revealed his thoughts on Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira’s fight. Moreover, his disappointment at not getting the chance to fight Kamaru Usman or Adesanya was particularly clear.

Khamzat Chimaev shares his disappointment over Israel Adesanya’s defeat

ESPN MMA’s Brent Okamoto recently interviewed the welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev. They talk about Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya’s latest defeats. The interviewer commented that Adesanya and Usman were looked at as number one and two in the world, respectively. However, he also believed that the ‘Borz’ could have defeated both of them.

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Chimaev wasn’t happy with the outcome of the bout. ‘Borz’ said, “Yeah, of course. Of course. This was my chance. I was thinking, I was- Israel has to win. He has to win. I was feeling like that he has to win that fight with that guy. Who he gonna fight after that. So, yeah. But he lose. He lost the fight. So, I don’t know what is he gonna do. When I lost the fight, I was like mad, you know.”

Read More: Israel Adesanya Reveals Khamzat Chimaev UFC Fight Chances to Mike Tyson: “When the Moon Barks at the Dog… ”

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Borz’s disappointment was as clear as a crystal. Furthermore, Chimaev commented that Adesanya talked too much and lost the fight. 

Borz’s comments on Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira rematch

In the same interview, Okamoto asked for Chimaev’s opinion on whether Izzy would win if he faced Pereira again. The 28-year-old UFC fighter simply said, “He can’t beat him. But, you never can control when somebody knock you out.” Moreover, the ‘Borz’ revealed his opinion on the recent UFC 281 main event. He said, “Israel was winning the fight. It was a little bit… He played too much, you know. That’s why he lost the fight.” Finally, he revealed his disappointment when he said that Adesanya was supposed to win that fight. 

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Although previously challenged by Chimaev, ‘The Last Stylebender’ turned it down saying the challenger was from a different weight category. However, Chimaev has also booked his name in middleweight fights. The fighter even challenged Usman before his fight with Gilbert Burns. Surprisingly, Usman turned down the challenge saying he wished to go for the light heavyweight division. 

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Watch This Story: Five Times Khamzat Chimaev Obliterated his opponents in his MMA Career

In the end, Chimaev was left with nothing but disappointment. Nonetheless, the rise of the welterweight fighter is not unknown. What are your thoughts about Chimaev’s rise? Let us know in the comments below.

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Krushna Prasad Pattnaik

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Krushna Pattnaik is an NFL Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the league across news, roster moves, and team developments. With a medical background, he brings particular depth to stories around player injuries, medical suspensions, and health-related developments. As a Senior Writer, he honed his editorial skills through the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program. Before moving to the NFL beat, Krushna spent three years at EssentiallySports covering MMA and Olympic sports, working across prediction pieces, live event assignments, and beat reports. With five years of personal training in Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and taekwondo, he brought a practitioner's perspective to his fight coverage. He also briefly contributed to the ES YouTube team. His work earned external recognition, including a nod from Conor McGregor, and one of his pieces was featured on Brendan Schaub's podcast.

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Jayant Chhabra