Is Khamzat Chimaev finally getting his long-awaited shot at UFC gold? The Emirati wrecking machine has been vocal about his title aspirations ever since his dominant win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. While the UFC chose to settle unfinished business by booking Sean Strickland against champion Dricus Du Plessis, the smoke has cleared—and ‘Borz’ is back in camp. With the South African now firmly in his crosshairs, all signs point to a blockbuster middleweight title clash, possibly headlining UFC 317.
After months of anticipation, Khamzat Chimaev‘s team finally broke the silence when they cleared the smog of ‘Borz’ return. Well, they did not actually confirm the official date of the fight, but their statement was enough to increase the hype around Chimaev’s overdue title fight. “Khamzat’s championship fight may be announced in the near future. There are still some nuances, but everything is heading in that direction. Such a fight is possible in June.”
As the hype around Khamzat Chimaev was just starting to build, the undefeated warrior took to his Instagram handle to upload a video of himself tossing his opponent during a wrestling training session. The video was reshared by HomeOfFight, which stated that Chimaev has begun his camp in Kislovodsk, Russia—now, only the official announcement remains.
Why is this big news, you ask? Well, the timing of these posts just makes perfect sense considering the fact that International Fight Week is approaching and the UFC CEO, Dana White, is yet to announce the cards. Interestingly, White even teased that a huge fight announcement involving Chimaev would be made somewhere around this month, “Many want to see Chimaev in the main event… It’s going to be fun! Stay tuned for Tuesday,” White stated. Well, it’s true that Tuesday has long gone, but it is certain that the UFC CEO is considering Chimaev for a title fight.
Now that Khamzat Chimaev has officially given an update about his training camp, the South African champion should stay vigilant, considering the fact that the Chechen-born Emirati is too hungry for the title. As June approaches fast, the MMA community may finally be able to witness this masterclass of a fight, and the middleweight division is set to be turned upside down. Given that, let’s have a look at what the UFC fans are talking about.
Fans stand divided as Khamzat Chimaev shares training montage
Being one of the best talents to come out of Swedan, Khamzat Chimaev has to prove his mettle against Dricus Du Plessis. ‘Borz’ clinched gold at the Swedish Freestyle National Championships three times—at 86 kg in 2016 and 2017, and at 92 kg in 2018 becoming one of the best talents to ever set foot in the country. A fan correctly wrote, “Best wrestler in Mma as far as we are concerned”
Dricus Du Plessis has something which none of the other fighters have and it’s plot armor as per the MMA community, “Cool training ddp will just jump over his takedown and do a somersault ko and shi.” Why did we say this? Well, that’s due to the fact that Du Plessis has been really unpredictable in his fight. Sometimes he appears tired, and then the next moment he may seem all fired up, throwing shots.
Moving on from Du Plessis, a fan emphasized that Khamzat Chimaev might lose his cardio within two rounds, “Just to gas out in the 2nd round.” Well, the statement stands true as the fighter has suffered from COVID-19, which nearly ended his career, and it was Dana White who persuaded him to compete. His health has not been his strongest factor, and Du Plessis might take advantage of this.
Will Khamzat Chimaev pull out of his fight? Well, Borz has a history of withdrawing from fights at the very last moment. He previously pulled out of scheduled bouts against Leon Edwards and Robert Whittaker, which makes his participation in this upcoming fight uncertain. Noticing this pattern, a concerned fan wrote, “1 week prior the fight gets sick….”
Furthermore, another fan added, “Islam is in camp too, all we need now is Topuria to post himself in fight camp.” Last but not the least, a fan has a firm belief in Khamzat Chimaev that he will win this battle, “That rubbish fighting style of DDP won’t work on khamzat.”
With Khamzat Chimaev back in the gym once again, what are your thoughts on the news? Will ‘Borz’ be able to defeat Dricus Du Plessis? State your opinion in the comments below.
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