Just 2 Years After UFC Debut, Khamzat Chimaev Got Likened to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Floyd Mayweather for His ‘Insanity’

Not many fighters in the UFC have the potential of Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev burst onto the scene in UFC with victory after victory and is on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC. The 29-year old has not featured yet in a UFC event in 2023. However, he will be trying to continue his unbeaten run against Paulo Costa at UFC 294. The Swedish has remained undefeated not only in the UFC but throughout his professional career. This is only done by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired unbeaten throughout his career. That’s the level Chimaev is looking to emulate and while doing so Chimaev’s coach made a very bold comparison. Just 2 years after his debut win, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Floyd Mayweather liked Chimaev, not for his performance, but due to his mentality.

Chimaev first earned recognition after he fought twice within 1o days for the UFC. As he said, he has come to the UFC to fight and kill everybody. However, ‘Borz’s hype train came to a halt when he missed weight by almost 7.5 pounds against Nate Diaz. Due to this, he had to be replaced with Tony Ferguson on a short notice fight. Although Chimaev fought at the same event and defeated Kevin Holland through a spectacular performance, he could not escape scrutiny.

Every fighter in the UFC aims to attain the highest possible success inside the octagon and outside it. No compliment is higher than to be compared with Michael Jordan himself. ‘Black Jesus’ is one of the greatest basketball players of all time if not the greatest of all time. Thus, it would have pleased Chimaev greatly when his coach compared him to the likes of Jordan and Mayweather.

Is Khamzat Chimaev on par with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Floyd Mayweather?

It was during the lead-up to the infamous Nate Diaz fight when Khamzat Chimaev was compared to the great athletes. Chimaev’s coach Andreas Michael spoke with a French outlet La Sueur. During the interview, he spoke about the mentality of great athletes.

Michael said, “When you see Kobe Bryant, and you see Michael Jordan, and when you see Mayweather and all these guys, it makes sense to them. Because they had the same work ethic. It’s insane … but you’re not them. And that’s why it’s insane to you. You’re not them and that’s why you’ll never be anything if that’s insane. What’s insanity is the reality of legends. Insanity is only insane to the people that didn’t become anything.“

Despite these comparisons, Chimaev went on to miss the weight cut for the Nate Diz fight. However, due to the mentality of Chimaev, he will not be defined by the setback just like Michael Jordan, Floyd Mayweather, and Kobe Bryant. He once detailed his mentality after a setback that kept him out of the fight game.

Chimaev revealed his mentality

After Borz’s first 3 victories, he had to stay on the sidelines for a lengthy time. Due to health conditions, Chimaev was not able to fight for almost 6 months. However, Chimaev actually became stronger. According to Chimaev’s coach Andreas Michael, the 29-year old fighter utilized the time to better himself physically and mentally.

Michael said, “I think I’ve become stronger mentally, coach. Five months being out from the training. But when we come back, I’m hungry. More hungry. When people talk too much, it makes me more motivation.”

This statement speaks volumes about Chimaev’s mentality as his coach revealed the health issues the Swedish fighter had. Chimaev had a cyst on his neck and scars on his lung. Not everyone can be an MMA fighter and make it to UFC. However, it takes a special type of person to overcome such obstacles and maintain an unbeaten record in the UFC. It remains unclear if Chimaev will achieve as much as Floyd Mayweather, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan have. But he does have quite a strong mentality on their level.