Khamzat Chimaev’s rise was predicted three years prior to his UFC debut by former UFC middleweight and commentator Brian Stann.
‘Borz’ is set to co-headline UFC 308 when he takes on ex-champion Robert Whittaker in a high-stakes 185lb matchup at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Chimaev has earned his biggest fight to date by mauling most of his opponents to put together a 14-0 record, which includes big wins over Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns, and Kevin Holland.
The 30-year-old was virtually unknown before he burst onto the scene in 2020. Now he’s one of the biggest stars in the UFC and Stann seems to be one of the only people who saw him coming.
Brain Stann didn’t know Khamzat Chimaev’s name in 2017
During a Q&A with fans ahead of UFC Fight Night: Auckland in 2017, Stann was asked if he knew of any up-and-coming fighters who deserved a chance in the company.
The former middleweight contender, who retired three years earlier, began talking about a prospect in Sweden that he had been hearing scary stories about – but he didn’t know his name.
“There’s a welterweight in Sweden, at Sweden MMA All-Stars that trains Alexander Gustafsson. I don’t know his name. I just know him by reputation,” Stann said.
“He’s not in the UFC yet, but he has a whole lot of success with all of the big names that train out of MMA All-Stars in Stockholm, and when we get this kid signed, I think he’s going to make some real waves.”
The mysterious welterweight Stann was talking about was Chimaev, who amassed six straight wins in the Middle East for Brave CF before being snapped up by Dana White.
Chimaev made his company debut at middleweight and dominated Welsh fighter John Phillips before submitting him inside two rounds on the second ‘Fight Island’ UFC Island event.
Seven days later, ‘The Wolf’ earned praise from the UFC boss when he dropped down to welterweight and scored a TKO win over former Cage Warriors standout Rhys Mckee.
Chimaev continued to switch between middleweight and welterweight as he KO’d Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds and tapped out Li Jingliang in his next two fights.
A brutal three-round battle with Burns followed before Chimaev incredibly missed weight for a fight with Nate Diaz by 7.5lbs, which led to him facing Holland at UFC 279 instead.
Chimaev faded late but beat Usman by a majority decision at UFC 294 in October 2023 to earn what appears to be a title eliminator with Whittaker.
Khamzat Chimaev has been dealing with issues away from MMA
Chimaev seems to have everything it takes to be a UFC champion, but four years into his career with MMA’s premier promotion he still doesn’t hold a title.
The top contender had the chance to make his case for a middleweight title shot in June, but Chimaev suffered from a mystery illness that left him ‘violently ill’ in hospital and unable to fight Whittaker.
Now he’s fully fit and ready to earn a title shot at UFC 308 this weekend.
Some fans believe a conspiracy theory about his inactivity and Chimaev has finally addressed the rumor that he can’t fight in the United States due to a travel ban.
Speaking with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri via the SHAK MMA YouTube channel ahead of his comeback fight at UFC 308, Chimaev claimed that he’s free to travel and compete in the United States.
“I don’t think so, people say a lot of different s*** things… I’ve been to the US and can come to the US, but a lot of s*** things happen in my life with being sick and surgeries, you know.
“That’s why I’ve been fighting not like before [when it was] all the time, and [with] Abu Dhabi being close to me, I just want to jump in and fight there.”