Gilbert Burns was surprised to see Khamzat Chimaev playing the nice guy ahead of his UFC 308 fight against Robert Whittaker. The Russian showed a side of his that nobody believed existed. ‘Borz’ was respectful, did not trash talk, either. On the contrary, Chimaev praised Whittaker a few times, before breaking his jaw in the Octagon.
The fact that Chimaev let his fists do the talking in the actual bout, and behaved rather well in the build-up refraining from his usual antics to rile things up, left Burns confused.
‘Durinho’ had to decipher the change in Chimaev, regardless of whether it was a refreshing or not.
“I’m a nice guy too…He was chest out all the time, looking to me, sizing me up…. I just think (for the Whittaker fight) he just tried to be more calm…. A lot of people was doubting him,” Burns said on Give Me the Money podcast.
Going into UFC 308, there was a lot of doubt about Chimaev’s form. Though the Russian ended up winning, he did endure close fights against Burns himself and Kamaru Usman prior to that.
Those bouts were followed by a period of struggle with ill health. It seemed that people were starting to lose faith in ‘Borz‘ and his fight credentials. Perhaps that was the reason why he didn’t do any talking but let his performance convey a larger message.
Another reason — a big one — is the maturity he finds himself with after becoming a father. Chimaev himself stated that fatherhood changed him a lot.
Chimaev reveals why his personality has changed
Chimaev was a brash, loud-mouthed, trash-talking fighter known for his dominant approach in the Octagon. His personality and his fighting style complimented each other. And the fans loved every bit of it.
‘Borz’ showed a different side of him against Whittaker — not in Octagon for sure, but outside of it. Chimaev spoke about the reason behind this personality transformation.
“Before, I was crazy I was just doing the things… now you do anything, before you do you think about like if my son grows up how’s he gonna see me. How will he think about me. What kind of man my father is?” he said in an episode of the Eye AM podcast.
Chimaev does not want his son to see him as a ‘bully’. And the change made him exude a relatively calm and composed aura. Can we expect him to be nothing but respectful to his opponents from now on? Well, yes, but only till he enters that cage.
