Khamzat Chimaev News

Chris Taylor - January 2, 2021

Surging UFC contender Khamzat Chimaev was hoping to ring in the New Year by scoring his most high profile victory to date. ‘Borz’ was slated to square off against perennial welterweight contender Leon Edwards on January 20, but was forced to pullout of the contest after contracting Covid-19.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC president Dana White named his top three fighters to watch for in 2021, pointing out Khamzat Chimaev, Kevin Holland, and Joaquin Buckley. White was a guest on the “SHOUT! Buffalo Podcast” on Wednesday and he was asked to point out his top three fighters to look forward to heading into the new year. The UFC president named three of the hottest fighters on the UFC roster right now in Chimaev, Holland, and Buckley as his top three fighters to watch for in 2021.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev withdrew from his planned fight with Leon Edwards due to complications stemming from his recent COVID-19 infection, according to his manager. Chimaev was slated to fight Edwards in the main event of a card on Fight Island on January 20. Unfortunately, he was forced out of the bout earlier this week.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

An anticipated welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev is off again, according to reports out of Sweden and Russia. Edward and Chimaev were originally expected to meet in the main event of a Fight Night card in Las Vegas on December 19. Unfortunately, that plan was derailed when Edwards came down with COVID-19.

Tom Taylor - December 22, 2020

Ranked welterweight contenders Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny have reportedly agreed to fight on January 20 on Fight Island. While this is a big fight for the welterweight division in its own right, either of the two men could apparently get the call to step in should Leon Edwards or Khamzat Chimaev fail to make it to the cage for the card’s main event.

Drake Riggs - December 17, 2020

Streaking welterweight contender Geoff Neal is prepared to compete in his biggest fight yet. But originally, he wasn’t supposed to be UFC Vegas 17’s main event. On December 19, Neal is set to take on former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. For the 30-year old Contender Series alum, this will be his first time as a UFC headliner.

Adam Martin - December 17, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland called Khamzat Chimaev a “wannabe gangster” after hearing “crickets” following his recent call-out. Holland knocked out veteran Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 last weekend with punches off his back on the ground. It was another incredible victory for Holland, who is 5-0 in 2020, with all five of his fights coming since May. After knocking Souza out in a $50,000 bonus-winning performance, Holland called out Chimaev, one of the hottest fighters in the UFC right now at either 170lbs or 180lbs. Chimaev currently has a date set with Leon Edwards for January 20 on Fight Island, but that didn’t stop Holland from calling the Swede out.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White has explained why the promotion booked a controversial welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev was one of the breakout stars for the UFC in 2020, rattling off a trio of wins over John Philips, Rhys McKee and Gerald Meerschaert in the span of just a few months. While those wins were impressive, however, he’s yet to beat a ranked opponent at either middleweight or welterweight.

Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland has issued a challenge to Khamzat Chimaev, challenging him to a fight at next week’s UFC Vegas 17. Holland is one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster. Since May, Holland has fought five times in the Octagon, winning all five of those fights, including a brutal KO win over Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 that should cement his place in the top-15 of the UFC middleweight division. Not surprisingly considering how often Holland likes to fight, he used his post-fight interview after the win over Souza as an opportunity to call out another fighter who likes to step into the cage as often as possible in Chimaev.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2020

Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev are expected to headline a Fight Night card on Fight Island. Originally, Edwards and Chimaev were expected to headline the final event of 2020 on December 19 in Las Vegas. However, the fight was postponed after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19 but it appears the promotion is moving quickly to rebook it.

Adam Martin - December 2, 2020

Veteran UFC welterweight Neil Magny says he’s open to fighting top prospect Khamzat Chimaev on short notice later this month at UFC Vegas 17. Chimaev was set to face off against No. 3 ranked Leon Edwards in the biggest fight of his career on December 19 in Las Vegas. The fight was scheduled for five rounds and was set to be the main event. Unfortunately, disaster struck. After reports emerged that Chimaev had contracted COVID-19 and the fight was up in the air, it turned out that Edwards is actually the one who has COVID-19, and of course, the fight has been postponed until sometime in 2021 when Edwards recovers from the illness.

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

An anticipated welterweight scrap between No. 3-ranked contender Leon Edwards and rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev has unfortunately been canceled after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19. News of the bout’s cancelation comes from Ariel Helwani of ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2020

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has a theory about why the UFC is giving such a huge promotional push to rising contender Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev, who is now 3-0 in the UFC, is one of the most hyped fighters on the UFC roster at present, and has been rewarded with a massive fight against No. 3-ranked welterweight contender Leon Edwards.

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev is now a ranked welterweight. Ever since Chimaev’s dominant stretch on Fight Island, many clamored for him to be ranked. Yet, that did not happen and after he KO’d Gerald Meerschaert with one-punch, the Swede was booked against Leon Edwards in the main event.

Christopher Taylor - November 15, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev (9-0 MMA) continues to callout the Diaz Brothers, this despite being booked to fight Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 186. The Russian-born Swedish fighter has had a meteoric rise to fame following his three stoppage victories in just over two month’s while competing under the UFC banner.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev is looking to fight middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Ever since Chimaev had an impressive stint on Fight Island where he dominated John Phillips and Rhys McKee at middleweight then welterweight, he had been calling out the champions. He made it clear he would finish both Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, but it appears more of his attention has gone towards Adesanya.

Adam Martin - October 30, 2020

UFC middleweight Gerald Meerschaert says he will do “whatever it takes” in order to secure a rematch with top prospect Khamzat Chimaev. Meerschart met Chimaev in early September in Las Vegas in the third fight of the young Swede’s UFC career. The promotion’s matchmakers wanted to give Chimaev a step up against a veteran and Meerschaert answered the call. However, the middleweight wasn’t happy that the UFC also booked Chimaev against Demian Maia, calling the move “disrespectful.” Not long after the comments, the Maia fight ended up falling through.

Adam Martin - October 29, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman explained why the UFC passed on booking him in the fight against top prospect Khamzat Chimaev. Weidman broke his long losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Omari Akhmedov in his last outing. Since then, Weidman has been calling for some of the top dogs in the middleweight division such as Derek Brunson and Paulo Costa. Another fighter who Weidman mentioned as a potential opponent in Chimaev. Most fighters didn’t seem to be interested in being matched up with the Swede, but Weidman was out there calling for it.