This weekend Khamzat Chimaev is scheduled to headline his first ever UFC major occasion. At UFC 279 he’ll be assembly Nate Diaz in a bout that would additional the Chechen’s rep as tremendous prospect turned bona fide title contender.
Chimaev’s rise to the highest of MMA has been meteoric, because of a blistering 2020 the place he gained three fights in fast succession and in devastating trend. In his UFC debut he defeated John Phillips with a d’arce choke. He then TKO’d Rhys Mckee. He adopted these wins up with a 17-second KO of Gerald Meerschaert.
These wins had UFC President Dana White calling Chimaev a future champion. The UFC tried to fast-track Chimaev up the UFC’s welterweight rankings with a match-up with present champion Leon Edwards. Nevertheless, COVID-19 acquired in the way in which.
After a prolonged spell on the sidelines, battling extreme signs of COVID, Chimaev returned in late 2021 and beat Li Jingliang by submission.
That win reignited the hype round Chimaev and he was quickly booked with an opponent designed to check whether or not or not he was prepared for the massive time.
At UFC 273 in April, Chimaev met Gilbert Burns, who was only a yr faraway from combating Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title.
You possibly can watch that contest, which gained Combat of the Night time honours, beneath — free of charge:
It’s secure to say that Chimaev got here by way of his take a look at towards Burns with flying colors. He didn’t rating a end over the wily Brazilian, however he confirmed he deserved to be combating the who’s who of the welterweight (and possibly middleweight) division.
If he beats Diaz on Saturday, which many predict he’ll, Chimaev shall be in prime place to struggle for the 170 lbs belt within the close to future.
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BLOCKBUSTER WELTERWEIGHT SHOWDOWN! Final Preventing Championship (UFC) returns to T-Cell Area in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Sept. 10, 2022, with a must-watch Welterweight thriller that can see undefeated No. 3-ranked contender, Khamzat Chimaev, battle perennial fan favourite, Nate Diaz. In UFC 279’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main occasion, former top-ranked Light-weight contender, Tony Ferguson, will return to the 170-pound weight class for his subsequent project reverse Welterweight “Leech,” Li Jingliang.
