Born on May 1, 1994, Khamzat Chimaev is Mixed Martial Artist who was born in Chechnya. He is one of the best young prospects in MMA right now.
He is still very young in his career. Nicknamed ‘The Borz‘, Chimaev started his combat sports career with amateur wrestling. After finding a lot of success in freestyle wrestling, he transitioned to MMA.
Also Read: All You Need to Know About Khamzat Chimaev’s Wrestling and MMA Achievements Outside of UFC
After having the first 6 fights of his career in indie promotions, Chimaev finally jumped to the most popular MMA promotion in the world. He stamped his authority in the company right away with 2 fights in a matter of 10 days.
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Since then, he has been the subject of a massive marketing push from the UFC. Chimaev has built a massive following on social media platforms lately and the videos on his YouTube channel have made him a fan favourite all across the world.
Why did Khamzat Chimaev leave Chechnya to live in Sweden?
During an in-depth interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Khamzat Chimaev spoke about his family. He discussed the reason why his family moved away from Chechnya and what impact it had on them.
According to Khamzat, his brother (Arthur Chimaev) was already living in Sweden. It was his brother’s suggestion to move away from Chechnya for better living conditions. Chimaev revealed that his brother went there for some medical reasons and ended up staying in Sweden permanently. He also remembers the first day when he left his home country. Chimaev said,
“The beginning for me, I was young (19), doesn’t wanna left my friends, but when we comes here, it was a small village here as well and I didn’t know somebody. We didn’t have gym as well there. One year, it was hard for me. Why am I come here? Why will we stay here?”
Khamzat Chimaev speaks about his mother and her sacrifices
However, the 27-year old did not miss Chechnya for too long as the new place started to feel like home to him. He explained that living in one place for a long time made him feel like he was at home. Khamzat then spoke about the very first place that he lived.
It was a mere two-bedroom apartment that the Chimaev family lived in. Khamzat and his brother lived in one small room and his mother and sister lived in the other. Recalling those days, he added that they did not have enough place have their privacy. Even having food was a big ask for them at the time. Hence, Chimaev always wanted to do something to give his family a better life. Talking about that, Khamzat said,
“Always inside in me, I gonna find some ways, make my life as best, you know. So I always was thinking, always was working, doing something, never stopped.”
“She (my mother) thinks always about us. You don’t understand why she gives she’s food to us, she was waiting for us like we finish the food, the things that are left, she is eat. Now when I become like all this, I understand why she did that. Now I wanna give back everything. That’s why I always feel like how to make she’s life better.”
He said it was his mom’s life that matters to him the most. Khamzat revealed that he always speaks to his mother on the phone whenever he is outside the country. Chimaev claimed if his mother is happy, he is happy.
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Khamzat Chimaev will once again make the walk to the Octagon for his fifth UFC fight against Gilbert Burns. Burns is at no. 2 in the Welterweight rankings. Hence winning here almost guarantees a crack at the champion Kamaru Usman next.
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