Since making his UFC debut on Fight Island in 2020, Khamzat Chimaev has become a fan favorite thanks to his personality and his fighting skills. He has an undefeated record in the UFC with some dominant performances. Despite the fame and recognition that has come his way, Chimaev is extremely clear about his goals in the sport. In his recent interview on the YouTube channel Nina Drama, Borz claimed that $200 million worth Conor McGregor inspired him to believe that he could also earn life-changing money by fighting in the UFC. He also predicted to earn around $20 million from 7 UFC fights.
McGregor is by far the highest earning UFC fighter of all time. In his last bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, McGregor is estimated to have made around $33 million. He also serves as an inspiration to many combat sports athletes including Chimaev because of his charisma and money making ability.
Khamzat Chimaev credits Conor McGregor for changing the game for fighters
Conor McGregor was the first fighter that transcended the UFC. ‘The Notorious’ became more famous and well-known than any other fighter that had come before him. Needless to say, this translated into some massive paydays for McGregor and the UFC.
There were many fights that played a key role in his growth. However, it was his knockout win over Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December, 2015 that put him in a league of his own. During his interview with Nina Daniele, Chimaev revealed how watching that fight inspired him to pursue MMA and earn money. He said,
“I see the guy [McGregor] knock him [Aldo] out. I was thinking, ‘If that guy did that, then why I’m not going to do it.’ Mentally, I’m stronger than him, my body is bigger. I was feeling at that time [if I met] him outside, I can break him, you know? If he makes that money, why not me?”
Thus far in his UFC career, Chimaev earnings eclipse the 7-figure mark without a shadow of a doubt. In the same interview, Nina in a pass or smash game named 7 UFC fighters to Chimaev. The middleweight fighter choose to smash all of them and further stated that the fights would earn him around $20 million. The fighters named by Nina included Sean Strickland, Paulo Costa, Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Marvin Vettori, Roman Dolidze and Bo Nickal. (You can watch the conversation from the above video starting from 6:30.)
‘Borz’ relishes competition and wants to make the most money he possibly can fighting the best fighters in the world. While the UAE fighter aims to earn a lot of money with his MMA career, he has recently signed a new deal with the UFC.
Chimaev signs a new deal with the UFC
‘Borz’ was set to face Paulo Costa this weekend. However, with all that has transpired over the past week, he will now face Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. The event is set to take place at the Etihad arena in Abu Dhabi on October 21, 2023. Dana White has stated that the winner of this fight will face Sean Strickland for the 185-pound title.
A lot of the news this week has been around the fight. However, on a personal front, this week has been very productive for Chimaev. According to reports, ‘Borz’ signed a new deal with the UFC this week. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported that he signed a new deal on Tuesday. The exact details of the deal were not disclosed. His manager did reveal that he had two fights on his existing deals before renewing it.
There is no doubt that Chimaev will be rewarded handsomely with his new deal. However, only time will tell how close he can get to Conor McGregor in terms of financial success.
