The undefeated UFC Welterweight Khamzat Chimaev is an extremely proficient fighter. He has remained undefeated in a weight class that boasts a great roster of fighters and that is no easy feat to accomplish. He really proved his mettle in his last two fights against Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns, winning against both, by submission and UD, respectively.

Ever since he failed to make weight at UFC 279, Chimaev has been heavily criticized by the fans of the sport and by other UFC fighters. Some say he has been taking things too casually since he was on a winning streak. However, the Swedish destroyer redeemed some of his lost credibility as a fighter through a social media post that has gone viral.

Back in shape – Khamzat Chimaev’s sparring video restores some belief in the fighter

The fans can be giving and can be cruel. When Chimaev failed to make weight ahead of the fight against Nate Diaz, a lot of people discounted him as a fighter, questioning his durability and endurance. All doubts were laid to rest as an Instagram video uploaded by blackbeltmma showed Khamzat Chimaev in an intense sparring session. The caption read, ” In his recent video posted on youtube Chimaev doing 22 rounds of sparring, 10 wrestling 12 MMA“.

Fans started commenting the post soon after.

“Mark my words Khamzat will be champion“, said one.

“Future Champ screen it“, said another.

Convinced of the fighter’s ability and seeing the hunger for victory, a fan commented, “Give this man a fight“. 

That being said, not everyone was convinced. Chimaev has a lot of people rooting against him and they jumped at the opportunity to put forth their opinion.

“It’s easy to do 22 rounds when your sparring partners are lemons” said one person, claiming that the fighter wasn’t really challenging himself.

Other comments like, “Isn’t getting past Usman“, and “When is going to fight then” came in from people who were skeptical of the efficacy of the whole sparring routine.

One comment compelled a comparison with fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, saying, “Imagine he went to train with the dagestanis”. 

From failing to make weight to an intense sparring regime – Is something coming?

There have been speculations that Khamzat Chimaev’s next fight is going to be against the dangerous Kamaru Usman. A well-respected fighter in the community of MMA, Usman might be the biggest challenge for Chimaev yet. However, there are no confirmations regarding this fight from UFC president Dana White. Usman has called out Chimaev and the fans are hyped for this potential match-up. But there is a catch.

In an interview with Jim Rome, Dana White put forth his only condition for making that match happen. He said, “If (Usman) wants to move up to 185 and fight him [Chimaev], we can talk about it. But trying to fight him at a catchweight, I’m not interested in it.”

Dive Deeper – The Early Career of Khamzat Chimaev Before UFC and MMA

The UFC President has never gone back on his words. He knows that this is a match-up that will go down in history books. However, he is going to make that happen under certain conditions to even the odds. But, by the looks of it, Chimaev has already started preparing for what could perhaps be, the greatest match of his career.

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