Khamzat Chimaev

 ( 1994 Births ) 

Chimaev had a quick turnaround for his next fight when he took on Sidney Wheeler on short notice on 22 December 2018, at Brave CF 20, replacing an injured Leon Aliu. He won the fight via technical knockout in 35 seconds into the first round.

He then fought Ikram Aliskerov on 19 April 2019, at Brave CF 23. This was Chimaev's debut in the welterweight division. He won the bout via knockout after landing an uppercut in the first round. This performance earned him Brave's Knockout of the Night award.

His fourth promotional fight came against Mzwandile Hlongwa on 4 October 2019, at Brave CF 27. Chimaev won the fight via submission in the second round.

Chimaev was expected to challenge Jarrah Al-Selawe for the BCF Welterweight Championship on 18 April 2020, at Brave CF 37, which would be the promotions first event in Chimaev's hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. However, the event would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the matchup was cancelled altogether when Chimaev signed with the UFC instead.

Ten days after the fight against Phillips, Chimaev faced promotional newcomer Rhys McKee at welterweight on 25 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. He earned his second Performance of the Night bonus award. This win also marked a new UFC record for the fastest consecutive wins in modern UFC history (ten days), although the official UFC record is still held by Royce Gracie, who achieved four consecutive wins within one night at UFC 2.

It was reported on 6 September 2020, that Chimaev would have another quick turnaround as he was booked to face Gerald Meerschaert on 19 September 2020, at UFC Fight Night 178. He won the fight against Meerschaert via knockout just 17 seconds into round one. This win earned him his third straight Performance of the Night award. This also earned him a new record, as it was the fastest three fight winning streak in modern UFC history (66 days).

Chimaev was scheduled to face Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC Fight Night 183 on 19 December 2020. In between, Chimaev was added to the UFC welterweight rankings, entering at #15. On 29 November, it was announced that Chimaev had tested positive for COVID-19, and the bout was declared to be in jeopardy. On 1 December, Edwards also tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was subsequently postponed. On 22 December, it was announced that the bout was rescheduled for 20 January 2021, at UFC Fight Night 185. Subsequently, Chimaev pulled out of the contest on 29 December due to his own COVID-19 recovery. As a result, the bout was momentarily cancelled. The pair was rescheduled once again to headline UFC Fight Night 187, on 13 March. However, on 11 February, UFC president Dana White announced the fight was once again cancelled due to Chimaev suffering from lingering effects of COVID-19.

On 1 March 2021, he announced on Instagram that he was retiring from the sport due to lung complications caused by COVID-19. Dana White later came out and said Chimaev was not retired and was just emotional after experiencing effects of prednisone for his lungs during a training session.

Chimaev returned to face Li Jingliang on 30 October 2021, at UFC 267. He won the bout via technical submission, choking Li unconscious with a rear-naked choke in round one. This win earned him his fourth straight Performance of the Night award.

Chimaev faced Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on 9 April 2022. Chimaev won the fight via unanimous decision, the first decision victory of his career. The fight was awarded the Fight of the Night award. The fight also earned him first place in the Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night award.

Chimaev was scheduled to face Nate Diaz on 10 September 2022 in the main event of UFC 279. At the weigh-ins, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, seven and a half pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. As a result of missing weight, Chimaev was removed from his main event bout with Diaz, and instead faced Kevin Holland in the co-main event at a 180-pound catchweight bout. Holland was already set for a 180-pound catchweight bout against Daniel Rodriguez on the card. Chimaev won the bout via D'Arce Choke in the first round.

After a one-year layoff, Chimaev returned to middleweight on 21 October 2023, at UFC 294. Chimaev was originally scheduled to fight former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa. However, due to surgery forcing Costa to pull out of the fight, Chimaev faced former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman. He won the fight via majority decision.

Chimaev was scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker on 22 June 2024, at UFC on ABC 6. However, he was forced to pull out of the contest due to an illness and was replaced by Ikram Aliskerov.

Chimaev ended up facing Robert Whittaker on 26 October 2024 at UFC 308. He won the fight via a face-crank submission in the first round resulting in a dislocated jaw. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

In 2022, Chimaev and UFC title challenger Darren Till got in contact to train with each other, with Till arriving in Stockholm in February, and have since been training at Allstars Training Center and shooting content for YouTube and Blockasset.

In an interview, Chimaev revealed he trains up to five times a day on the peak of training camps, and two to three times when he has no fights coming up.

In addition to his grappling abilities, Chimaev will also strike in his contests. His striking involves heavy knockout power from the orthodox stance while utilizing basic boxing and mixing up . He also uses his wrestling to set up his strikes by different takedowns and vice versa. By using his striking, Chimaev has been able to knock out UFC veteran Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds with a single punch. He has previously used it to drop past opponents on the regional circuit, including former combat sambo World Champion Ikram Aliskerov. Chimaev's striking defense mainly depends on his grappling. Before his fight with Gilbert Burns, he had more victories (4) than total strikes received (2), with a lone significant strike. As of 2025, the Burns fight accounts for nearly 70% of the significant strikes Chimaev has absorbed in his nine UFC fights.

Before he began competing professionally, he worked at a Poultry farming in Kalmar and also did security work.

Khamzat has an older brother named Artur, who competes in freestyle wrestling.

Chimaev contracted COVID-19 in December 2020 and suffered long COVID that required multiple hospitalizations and the cancelation of a scheduled fight against Leon Edwards. COVID-19 complications led to Khamzat Chimaev's withdrawal from Leon Edwards bout USA Today, Danny Segura, 30 December 2020

Chimaev is close with fellow mixed martial artists Darren Till and Jack Hermansson.

Despite living in Sweden for many years, Chimaev never acquired Swedish citizenship, keeping his Russian citizenship. In 2023, Chimaev moved to the UAE, and later received citizenship in January 2025. He is the first athlete representing the United Arab Emirates to win a UFC title.

[[Gothenburg]], [[Sweden]]
     

Örnsköldsvik, [[Sweden]]
     

Norrköping, [[Sweden]]
     

[[Karlstad]], [[Sweden]]
     

[[Hallstahammar]], [[Sweden]]
     

[[Sundsvall]], [[Sweden]]
     

Västerås, [[Sweden]]