Surging UFC Welterweight and Middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev has broken his silence on the altercation that ensued with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team. Khamzat Chimaev identifies as a Swedish national, but his ancestry and roots stem from Chechnya, Russia. Chimaev was brought to Sweden by his mother at the tender age of 18 by his mother to join his brother.
Khabib Nurmagomedov on the other hand needs no introduction. The Eagle hails from Russia as well, but from the mountains of Dagestan in contrast to Borz. Given the tension between the two regions, it was inevitable that a scuffle between the two would result.
At UFC 280, the Swede and Nurmagomedov’s team got entangled in a brawl. Although it wasn’t the Eagle who was involved in the scuffle, rather members of his team.
As tempers flared, Chimaev took offence to the remarks made by Nurmagomedov’s cousin and proceeded to shove him. Chaos ensued, and Nurmagomedov could be seen witnessing the situation escalate and events unfold from inside the octagon.
With the Eagle preoccupied with corner duties. In the aftermath of the event, the general consensus regarding the pair was that they would now become arch-enemies.
To the surprise of many, the very next day Chimaev and Nurmagomedov’s team squashed their issues. And the 28-year-old has finally shared a statement on the scenario.
Khamzat Chimaev gives his comment on the Khabib Nurmagomedov incident
Chimaev recently made an appearance on the MMA hour with renowned journalist, Ariel Helwani. The wrestling virtuoso delved into detail on several subjects including Colby Covington, Jiri Prochazska, Alex Perreira and so on and so forth.
Borz also spoke about the infamous incident between the Eagle’s team and himself. Chimaev even went on to state that he likes Nurmagomedov and draws inspiration from his art when he used to paint in the octagon.
Speaking of the incident, Chimaev said:
“Always be cool with Khabib man. Everyone thinks like I had some problems with Khabib. I never had problems with Khabib. His brother or cousin, I don’t know, we had some conversations, little bit of problems with each other so but it was never a big thing. So we meet in Abu Dhabi, we said sorry that we punched each other, I don’t know….When we grow up you know, people from Dagestan and Chechen we fight like that you know?… I never had some problems with Khabib.
Chimaev continued:
“Everyone posting like, Khamzat didn’t like Khabib, Khabib didn’t like Khamzat…we never had that problems. I like that guy. Why should I not like that guy? I always watch that guy’s fights and learned a lot of things from him.”
In the wake of the episode, Nurmagomedov played peacemaker and mediated the tension between his team and Chimaev. For the unaware, the significant factor behind the remedial of their dissension was notorious Russian politician, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Chimaev and Nurmagomedov effectively answer to Kadyrov and have done so for the better part of the past decade. Kadyrov’s mediation was pivotal, to the point that the pair made up the very next day and sent out a video.
Explaining the occurrence and clearing the air. Needless to say, the Chechen head’s influence knows no bounds within the country.
Khamzat Chimaev’s return to the octagon
In the interview, Chimaev disclosed that he had accepted fights with Covington, Alex Perreira and former Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
He further went on to claim that none of the fights was accepted and the bouts did not materialize. Any of those fights would be a stellar spectacle for fight fans.
The Swedish international’s return is anxiously anticipated, and the belief is that a bout will materialize. The rumored opponent is said to be Paulo Costa and the clash is expected to take place prior to the conclusion of June.
