Khamzat Chimaev delivered a spectacular performance in the co-main event of UFC 294. He defeated the former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. ‘Borz’ received praise and words of appreciation from the MMA community and fans including the former two-division champion Conor McGregor. This reaction from the Irishman came 4 years after Chimaev vowed to beat McGregor back in 2018.
‘The Notorious’ who is famous for his trash talks and no-filter approach is quite active on social media, especially during UFC live events. From sharing his reactions to later deleting them, McGregor often reacts to the bouts. He recently acknowledged Chimaev’s match winning performance against Usman at UFC 294.
Conor McGregor Reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s victory at UFC 294
With the winner of the fight receiving a title shot against Sean Strickland, ‘Borz’ showcased his stellar skills inside the octagon. He defeated the Nigerian fighter via majority decision in a middleweight bout which went for all 3 rounds.
Without wasting any time, Conor McGregor took to Twitter and shared his reaction appreciating Chimaev. The former featherweight champion praised Chimaev’s fighting skills in a now-deleted series of tweets. After the end of the first round of the co-main event, he tweeted:
“Chimaev is stellar in the first round. Had he opted out of the body triangle for the regular hooks to keep usman flattened out, it’s a first-round stoppage. He switched to the body triangle and allowed usman crunch up and defend. You cannot flatten them out on a body triangle.”
The first UFC double division champion also congratulated ‘Borz’ for the brown belt and proposed a title match against Strickland. He said:
“Respect. Fair play. Title shot next. Strickland vs Chimaev is wild. Congrats on the brown belt. Your pal, black belt.”
The Irishman went on to switch his stance by suggesting to rebook Chimaev vs Costa. In his post he stated that the UAE fighter needed to prove more in the middleweight division before receiving the title shot.
“Ya know what, chimaev may need to prove more for a 185lb title shot for me. He must beat a true 185er. Rebook Chimaev vs Costa.”
With that said, the Irishman’s appreciation towards ‘Borz’ doesn’t erase the fact that Chimaev once wanted to beat his MMA inspiration Conor McGregor.
Why did Khamzat Chimaev decide to beat his MMA inspiration Conor McGregor?
Chimaev is known for his feuds both inside and outside the MMA cage. He was so deranged once that he almost fought the former UFC double-division champion Conor McGregor, who happens to be his MMA inspiration.
The build-up to Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor’s bout at UFC 229 took an ugly turn when the Irishman during the press conference mocked Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Irishman trash talked about the Dagestani’s family and teammates which didn’t sit well with the middleweight fighter and he decided to fight McGregor.
Both Chimaev and McGregor are known for their scuffles inside and outside the cage. After receiving appreciation from ‘the Notorious’, it will be interesting to see if ‘Borz’ responds to the Irishman’s reaction.
