Getty Khamzat Chimaev
UFC superstar Khamzat Chimaev hit back at his critics after a dominant win at UFC 279.
This past Saturday, Chimaev took on Kevin Holland in the co-main event of the night. “Borz” was initially slated to headline against Nate Diaz, but failed to make the contractual weight limit of 170 pounds. Fellow fighters and fans criticized Chimaev for a perceived lack of professionalism, coming in seven and a half pounds overweight. Holland agreed to compete against Chimaev and shuffle his opponent to save the pay-per-view from collapsing.
During the post-fight press conference, Chimaev shared his thoughts on walking out to a wave of jeers from the crowd in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“You care about that sh*t?” Chimaev told Heavy and other media members (transcribed by Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports ). “I don’t care. I care about my family, I care about my family, I care about my career, I care about my money… One day they’re with me, one day they’re not with me.”
Chimaev did not appear bothered by the negative comments and found the silver lining of generating more buzz.
“Watch the weigh in on Instagram, look at who has the most views. Look at how many views I have and Diaz have and you’ll see who’s more of a star. People can say they don’t want to watch me fight, they’re liars. Everyone want to watch my fights, everyone wants to see a killer. Not that smoking sh*t and drug dealers here. I’m a professional athlete here.”
Chimaev Believes He Is Next in Line for a Title Shot at 170 Pounds
Following his win over Holland, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan asked Chimaev if a title shot would be practical given the massive weight miss. Chimaev gave his take on the contention for the 170-pound gold and made his case for the next shot.
“Who are they going to give it to? Who is next there? Everyone loses the fight. Colby loses 2 or 3 fights in a row. Masvidal loses, when was his last win? Against Diaz. Did you see Diaz fight? So terrible.”
He argued against the idea of him not being able to compete at welterweight.
“I did that before. Why not? I don’t know, I said to you, I’m going to go back and listen to my coach. If he says 170, we do 170, if he says heavyweight, we do heavyweight.”
Chimaev Appears To Have Quashed His Beef With Holland
Chimaev and Holland shared a fierce rivalry dating back to 2021, when the two got into a scuffle at a hotel. However, it appears the two finally settled their differences inside the cage.
“Borz” lauded Holland and extended an offer to train together at his home gym, Allstars Training Center.
”The guy is actually a nice guy, so I like him,” Chimaev added. “Sometimes we don’t like each other before the fights, it’s normal, we’re coming from the war to kill each other. Now that the war is over, he can come to our gym and be one of us.”