Khamzat Chimaev had a lot to prove in his fight against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
Despite an unblemished record and a jaw-dropping statistic where he absorbed almost no strikes whatsoever through his first four appearances in the octagon, Chimaev had still not faced any elite competition that would help him graduate from prospect to contender.
Chimaev passed his test with a “Fight of the Night” performance in a three-round slugfest against Burns that seemingly put to rest any concerns about his legitimacy as a threat in the welterweight division.
” I was truly impressed to be truthful,” UFC Welterweight Matt Brown stated about Chimaev in The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Gilbert Burns ain’t no joke. Gilbert Burns is a guy that anyone can lose to. Khamzat is as legit and competent as it gets. He did an excellent job. He was a great guy, and he kept his cool even while they were pounding the pavement. Burns impressed me, too.
“All around, I just thought it was a great fight and a perfect step up for Khamzat. It’s his fifth UFC bout and he is already facing Gilbert Burns. This is no joke. This is a legitimate statement. Khamzat’s fight .”
cannot be taken away.
In the lead up to the fight Chimaev looked overwhelming favourite but Burns made it hard on him in round two. He blasted the Chechen welterweight with hard shots and a few other tough shots.
Chimaev fought through the storm to come back and win round three before finally claiming unanimous victory.
“It was really good for him to go through that,” Brown said. Brown said, “Because he will go through it at some point. He’s still human like everybody. He’s still human, and they can talk about all the monster s***. If you are in the UFC, then you will be fighting alongside some wild animals. He’s going to have another fight like that but now he’s experienced it. It was a great experience for him.
” I think it was really beneficial for him. It’ll do great for him .”
as long as he takes the lessons and improves.
Prior UFC 273, Chimaev was mentioned in the past as an opponent for Kamaru Usman (the reigning UFC Welterweight Champion). He has since largely eliminated the bulk of top-ranked fighters.
Right now, Usman is recovering from hand surgery with a fight against Leon Edwards on the horizon later this year but Chimaev has definitely positioned himself as perhaps the biggest threat to dethrone “The Nigerian Nightmare.”
As impressed as he was with Chimaev’s performance, Brown isn’t ready to crown him champion just yet, especially if the path to get there still goes through Usman.
” You know what? I couldn’t find anything that indicated to me that he was going to defeat [Kamaru] Usman in that fight,” Brown stated. “That was the only negative that I would have took out of that fight. Although MMA math doesn’t work, the manner he defeated Gilbert did not make me believe he would beat Usman.
“Colby [Covington] will probably be his next fight. But, based on what we see, it seems likely. He’d be a perfect test. If you call it a step up — I don’t know who would win between Gilbert and Colby but a five round fight with someone like Colby is going to show a lot.”
Brown takes nothing away from Chimaev’s win over Burns much less his potential to earn a title shot in the near future but he’s also quick to point out Usman’s dominance over the entire division during an incredible 15-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC.
” The hype is real, but Usman should get as much attention as Chimaev,” Brown stated. He’s currently the most successful athlete in the world. This might spark a passion in Khamzat and make him train harder. He might show more stuff we ain’t seen. Colby is the ideal test and I believe they will win. That’s my ideal matchup.
” If he beats Colby and does it well, Usman-Chimaev will be an enormous fight. Colby’s the perfect guy not only testing Khamzat again, a huge five-round fight, but also if he beats him, the hype just gets even bigger and a Usman-Khamzat fight is gigantic at that point.”
