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What Happened Between Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov? All About Their Relationship and the Beef Between the Two Undefeated UFC Stars

Published 10/10/2023, 8:57 AM EDT

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In combat sports, there are two broad archetypes that fighters fall into. One is the Muhammad Ali, Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, and Chael Sonnen-esque fighters who use trash talk and personal insults as a way to promote the fight. They deliberately play the villain (or heel in pro wrestling parlance) and create hype for the fight. Khamzat Chimaev is a perfect example of this archetype.

The other are the honorable, esteemed fighters who respect their opponents, such as Alex Pereira, Anderson Silva, and, of course, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Dagestani was never one to trash-talk or insult his opponents and conducted himself with dignity and almost stoic poise. And that was on full display after the brawl between his team and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 280.

What was the beef between Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, and UFC welterweight Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and Khamzat Chimaev got into a brawl at UFC 280. This happened right after Nurmagomedov’s teammate, Islam Makhachev won the lightweight title by defeating Charles Oliveira. Security had to be involved to break up the physical altercation between the two UFC fighters.

The next day, however, Khabib would squash the beef between his team and Chimaev. Khabib, Makhachev, and Abubakar were seen breaking bread with Chimaev the next day. Following this, Khabib and his team, and Chimaev were seen together, and ‘The Eagle’ made a public statement.

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He expressed his disappointment at the affair and felt it represented neither party well, and revealed that they had apologized to each other, hoping things would be more amicable going forward.

“What happened yesterday does not show us well. Neither me, nor Khamzat nor Abubakar. To tell you the truth we are tired of this nonsense. Here we are gathered together as brothers. We have talked to each other and we apologized to each other. I hope that in the future, we will only gather and fight for good reasons,” the former lightweight champion said.

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Khabib coaching Islam Makhachev for UFC 294

Islam Makhachev will rematch Charles Oliveira in his second title defense at UFC 294 in the UAE. And Makhachev revealed on Instagram that Khabib Nurmagomedov was coaching him for the rematch. However, the undefeated fighter would not be cornering Makhachev for the UFC 294 main event.

Also Read: “He’s a Killer”- Khamzat Chimaev Predicted to Win Against Paulo Costa by Team Khabib Only if He “Follows the Plan”

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For the co-main event, Khamzat Chimaev will try to extend his undefeated streak against middleweight Paulo Costa. Their fight, according to Costa, would be a virtual title eliminator, and the winner may see themselves next in line for the title shot. Not to mention the significant bad blood that exists between the two men, who have been going back and forth, promising to defeat and humiliate each other.

Watch This Story: Charles Oliveira’s Latest Sparring Footage Before The Islam Makhachev Fight At UFC 294 Leaves Fans In Awe.

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Written by:

Kanishk Thakur

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Kanishk Thakur is an MMA writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in political science from Delhi University, his love for writing and MMA made him want to be part of telling the story of the sport. His journalist mother and love for philosophy and research inculcated a staunch rationalism in him, and the need to substantiate every statement he makes with good evidence.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Das