Khamzat Chimaev burst into the UFC brightly and after his first spectacular victories, the fighter from Russia, performing under different flags, was talked about as a potential champion. However, a whole list of problems prevented Borz from getting closer to the long-awaited battle for the belt. After crushing the former champion, there is no doubt – Chimaev is ready to fight for the UFC title!

Superstar in the Octagon

On Saturday, October 26, at the UFC 308 tournament in Abu Dhabi, in the co-main event, the undefeated fighter Khamzat Chimaev had to fight with former champion of the organization Robert Whittaker. Initially, the Russian, who competes in the UFC under the UAE flag, planned to fight the Australian in June, but due to circumstances, the fight did not take place. Now nothing interfered with the meeting in the octagon, both fighters did not go beyond the average weight, meeting the limit, although Chimaev was in no hurry to weigh in, which caused some concerns among his fans.

In the UFC rankings, Whittaker was 10 positions higher, while bookmakers preferred Khamzat in the confrontation. The stands also had no doubt about Borz’s triumph, the fighter was greeted in the hall like a superstar, and the security even had to get a lot nervous during Chimaev’s procession to the octagon.

Jaw crunch

Chimaev immediately rushed to attack, moved his opponent, began to torment him at the net and even tried to choke him. The Australian failed to finish on his first attempt, but Robert was unable to get up either. Experts on the eve of the fight believed that it was important for the ex-UFC champion to endure the opening round and then try to fight in the subsequent ones, but Whittaker did not even make it to the first break.

Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev / Photo: © Chris Unger / Contributor / UFC / Gettyimages.ru

The Australian unsuccessfully tried to escape from Khamzat’s embrace, took a risk by giving up his back, saved himself, but again found himself in a difficult situation. Did he expect his opponent to get tired? Perhaps, but Borz did not intend to prolong the confrontation; he managed to grab his opponent’s neck and began to choke the Australian with such force that he chose to capitulate in a matter of moments.

“I heard a sound like something crunched.” His jaw was close to breaking. So of course he gave up! – Chimaev said after the fight.

After the tournament, a creepy photo of Whittaker’s jaw appeared. The fighter’s lower front teeth were broken along with the bone. As for Chimaev, he is guaranteed to rise from 13th place in the UFC middleweight rankings. Of course, you can give Khamzat one more fight to warm up for the title fight, but is there any point in that? The fighter has long been ripe for a championship fight.

Watch broadcasts of UFC tournaments on the channels “Match TV”, “Match!” Fighter” and the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.