Middleweight fighter Khamzat Chimaev has a message for the newly crowned Middleweight champion. Earlier this month American fighter Sean Strickland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Tarzan dominated former champion Israel Adesanya to claim the title by a majority decision win.
Sean’s win over Adesanya has opened up possibilities for new matchups in the Middleweight division and brought movement to a rather stagnant division. However, it has also set a huge target on Sean’s back as several middleweights are rushing to challenge Tarzan including Khamzat Chimaev.
Borz had trained with Strickland at Xtreme Couture and as such has high praise for the champion. “He works hard, deserves it. The guy is always in the gym, he has a good coach, good team I’ve been there training with that guy. They deserve that belt,” said Chimaev.
Khamzat Chimaev explains why Sean Strickland deserves the belt pic.twitter.com/N6lFtBbDVQ
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) September 25, 2023
Yet, Chimaev is more focused on becoming the champion and will challenge anyone who stands between him and the title. Additionally the Chechen fighter also feels cheated by the UFC for keeping him on ice and away from the Middleweight title since last year.
“I don’t know why the guys are waiting, give that chance to me. They are hiding that belt from me. Anyway, like I said when I smash everybody, they have to give that belt to me,” added Khamzat.
The 29-year-old is scheduled to face Paulo Costa at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi in October. If Khamzat manages to score a win over the Brazilian fighter, chances are he might fight for the title next. However, Chimaev also happens to have made a pretty big change before his upcoming fight.
Khamzat Chimaev will no longer represent Sweden in His Upcoming Fights
Ahead of his fight with Paulo Costa, Khamzat Chimaev has made a huge move of immigrating to UAE. Chimaev originally hails from Chechnya, Russia but moved to Sweden when he was 18. Since then Borz trained at the Allstars gym and went on to represent Sweden in his upcoming MMA bouts.
However, the 29-year-old will now represent the UAE after gaining citizenship earlier this year. This move from Khamzat was very sudden and was revealed by his manager Majdi Shammas. “ He has immigrated, he is no longer Swedish. He wants to immigrated,” posted Borz’s manager.
🚨| Khamzat Chimaev will no longer represent Sweden in the UFC. 🇸🇪🙅♂️
He will now represent the United Arab Emirates starting at #UFC294 against Paulo Costa. 🇦🇪#UFC294 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/X0ofC9E3h9
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) September 23, 2023
While the reason for the unexpected switch is yet to be confirmed, several speculations have been revealed so far. Many fans assume that Khamzat is getting paid to represent the UAE and fight from their side. Meanwhile, there are also rumors that Chimaev immigrated due to the rising islamophobia in Sweden.
Regardless, the 29-year-old has found the UAE welcoming him with open arms. Additionally, Khamzat representing UAE instead of Sweden will earn him the benefits of fighting from home ground for his upcoming fight. Will Chimaev’s move to immigrate prove fruitful for his fighting career? Let us know in the comments below.
