Khamzat Chimaev has been one of the UFC’s most exciting contenders ever since he debuted inside the Octagon.
‘Borz’ has gone undefeated through eight fights in the promotion which has led him to UFC 319 where Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title.
Another undefeated star who hit the ground running at the highest level fought in the same promotion as Chimaev before he was signed to the UFC.
Ilia Topuria’s run has seen him become recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound talents in the world following his success at featherweight.
Before Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317, Chimaev shared what he initially thought of ‘El Matador’ when their paths crossed many years ago.
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Khamzat Chimaev says he could see the potential in Ilia Topuria when they first met many years ago
In a video posted by Adam Zubayraev on YouTube, Khamzat Chimaev was asked what he thought of Ilia Topuria when he first met him before ‘El Matador’ would go on to become one of the biggest stars in MMA today.
Both Chimaev and Topuria previously fought for BRAVE Combat Federation before they made their way to the UFC.
The featherweight produced back-to-back first-round finishes in the promotion before making his Octagon debut in October of 2020.
Chimaev also finished all of his wins in BRAVE CF, winning four-in-a-row before he instantly became one of the most talked about fighters in the world off the back of his first UFC outing in July of 2020.
Along with fighting for the same promotion, the two undefeated stars also met on the mats of Sweden’s Allstars Training Center which became a hub for European talent having produced fighters like Alexander Gustafsson.
Chimaev stated that he could see the potential in Topuria from an early stage in his career due to his work ethic.
“Of course, even then he was a top fighter in BRAVE, just like me. We both fought in BRAVE. It was clear that he was a hard worker who wants to achieve something and he achieved everything that you can in this sport.”
Khamzat Chimaev disputes fan criticism of Ilia Topuria
Khamzat Chimaev went on to give his thoughts on some of the criticism that Ilia Topuria has received during his UFC career.
From the moment that he stepped inside the Octagon for the first time, ‘El Matador’ was incredibly self confident about what he would go on to achieve.
Topuria may have been labelled as arrogant in the past but Chimaev doesn’t support these claims.
He believes that selling fights is simply a part of the sport and that the former featherweight champion isn’t like that once you spend some time around him.
“If fighters were quiet, there would be no such interest [in MMA]. In regular life, I’ve met him, spent some time, ate together. He’s a decent, solid guy.”