Khamzat Chimaev claims he flew to Ireland to “beat up” Conor McGregor, was detained instead

Red-hot UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev claims that, in 2018, he flew to Ireland with the objective of attacking former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor.

At the time, McGregor was gearing up for a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov—and sparing nothing in the way of pre-fight trash talk. Chimaev, hellbent on defending Nurmagomedov’s honor, apparently flew to Ireland under the pretence of training with McGregor.

Thankfully, he was detained by local authorities before he could get his hands on the Irishman.

“Honestly speaking, I wanted to beat him up,” Chimaev told reporter Adam Zubayraev (via MMA Mania). “Many people thought I was coming there to help him prepare for Khabib. I was coming there to protect our pride and honor. I was going there for all of us. If that would not have happened, I would have maybe thrown, I don’t know, some object.”

Chimaev was the breakout star of the UFC’s four-even stint on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. The Chechen-Swede won two fights in a 10-day span, submitting John Phillips at middleweight and Rhys McKee by TKO at welterweight—both in the first round.

Since then, he’s been the talk of the MMA world, and has been taking full advantage of his time in the spotlight.

In fact, he’s even called for a fight with McGregor.

@TheNotoriousMMA Tab machine king chicken heart @danawhite i’m hungry give me Give me dessert

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) July 27, 2020

While this seems a bit like a premature callout for somebody who is only 2-0 in the UFC, UFC President Dana White seems to believe Chimaev is capable of fighting at the highest level.

“We were sitting in here this morning trying to figure out what we think is next [for Chimaev” White told ESPN this week. “If you ask this kid, he’s ready to fight Usman. You know what I mean? Is he ready for Usman? The way he looks, who knows? Maybe.”

What do you think of this story from Khamzat Chimaev?