Khamzat Chimaev destroyed former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in under a round and finished him off with a face crank that broke his jaw at UFC 308. This has prompted fans and former champions alike to rally behind the Chechen in his quest for a title shot.
Whittaker had plans to take this fight to the deep end like former middleweight champion Kamaru Usman had done during his loss to Chimaev. The idea was to push past Khamzat’s initial aggression and go deeper into the rounds where he couldn’t sustain it anymore.
But none of it mattered. Somewhere around the 30-second mark in the fight, ‘Borz’ dived across the octagon to get his first takedown and it just never stopped from there.
Fans were naturally quick to praise the Russian fighter for his victory, “Khamzat Chimaev is the real deal! Deserves a title shot eventually.” One fan believes striking has become obsolete in the UFC thanks to the likes of Khamzat. He said, ” no one should ever learn to throw a punch ever again.”
Meanwhile, this fan called for the Russian fighter to get a title shot against Dricus Du Plessis next, “BORZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! TITLE SHOT NEXT!!!!!”
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad also found himself in the conversation and asked Dana White to “give khamzat the title shot right now”.
Ali Abdelaziz was another name who believed ‘Borz‘ was one of the best in the division. Proud of his achievements, the MMA manager said, “Congratulations Khamzat. What an amazing performance against a top guy in Whittaker.”
Truth be told, none of them had to rally behind him. Because from the looks of it, it’s simple math. He will tear through the division till he gets his hand on Dricus Du Plessis.
Chimaev wants to go for the title
Chimaev hardly broke a sweat in his fight against Whittaker. His pulling out of fights due to sickness and then close encounters with Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman meant that the initial hype associated with Khamzat’s name had been slowly waning.
So not only did he need the win, he had to really ragdoll his opponent.
Immediately after his win, Chimaev revealed his intentions in the post-fight octagon interview.
“Yeah man, I’m going for the belt, that guy is, thanks bro, I love you my brother…You’re a legend, respect he took the fight…..Now the champion is running from me.”
Only time will tell if any of this comes true.
