“He works hard, he’s in the gym all the time, now he has the title,” Borz said in another video blog posted on his Youtube channel. “He’s got a good team, a good coach – I’ve been there and trained with the guy. Strickland deserved that title – he was active and fought everybody.”
Despite the experience of training together and having a good relationship, Chimaev is ready to take the championship belt away from Strickland.
“Strickland, if you’re still up there, I’m coming for you!” he added, addressing the American.
Khamzat Chimaev will fight next on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, and a bright win over Brazilian Paulo Costa could put him at the top of the middleweight division title race.