Khamzat Chumaev was put to the test at UFC 273, but the undefeated fighter still scored high after a hard-fought battle against Gilbert Burns.
The welterweights brought out the best in each other for 15 minutes. Chimaev was cut, bleeding, and hurt sometimes but he also responded fire to every exchange. He stunned Burns many times with his feet. When it was over, Chimaev earned the unanimous decision but he paid homage to Burns afterwards for pushing him to the brink and giving him everything he could handle.
“F**** tough guy,” Chimaev said about his opponent. “I didn’t know he was so tough. Thank you for this fight, Gilbert. All respect to you, brother. He was strong for three rounds. I f ****** tried hard to do everything. That guy was f****** good today.
“I’m happy. This is what I waited for for so long. Now I’m bloody. I’m tired. I feel a little bit of pain. I love this s***.”
It took Chimaev no time to march across the cage, close the distance and then work for the takedown to put Burns on the canvas when the fight first started. Burns eventually got back to his feet where he began establishing his striking arsenal including a stiff leg kick and a couple of hard left hands that backed up Chimaev momentarily.
Just when it looked like Burns was gaining momentum, Chimaev sat him down with a perfectly timed straight punch that dropped the Brazilian down to the ground. Chimaev continued with heavy shots, but Burns managed to get out of an awkward position and return fire before the end of the first round.
With Chimaev devoted to his jab Burns began to attack with a strong right hand, which started to cause some issues for the Chechen. Burns kept attacking with vicious combinations, which started to twist Chimaev’s heads around. This was the first injury to the undefeated prospect since joining the UFC.
With the clock running out, Burns fired a massive shot that buckled Chimaev’s knees. He then jumped forward looking for the takedown as soon as the horn went off.
It was time to check the guts of both fighters. Chimaev seemed to have a bit more reserve in his conditioning and pushed Burns towards the cage, releasing a lot of punches. Burns looked wobbled at times but then he just started winging shots in return and Chimaev was forced to respect his power.
The final five minutes were pure chaos. However, it was Chimaev’s ability to hit more punches at once that made the difference. Burns was always searching for that one-shot knockout. When the final horn sounded, Chimaev embraced Burns as they left it all in the cage with the Jacksonville crowd praising their performances.
The win puts Chimaev in title contention. UFC President Dana White has already mentioned Colby Covington, who could be his next opponent.
Burns said that despite his less impressive resume, he didn’t regret taking on the fight against Chimaev.
” I don’t care. I came in here to fight,” Burns stated. “I go against the odds. “I was number. 2, I’ll fight anyone. Although the odds are against you, everyone is against you. However, I have a tremendous heart. I will continue fighting .”
