Khamzat Khizarovich Chimaev ( ce, Хизаран Хамзат; russian: Хамзат Хизарович Чимаев; born 1 May 1994), is a Swedish professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

who competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). He formerly competed in

Brave Combat Federation BRAVE Combat Federation is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in the Middle East. The organization was established on 23 September 2016 by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. BRAVE Combat Federation features mixed martial artists from mor ...

. In

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, Chimaev is a three-time Swedish National champion. As of 12 April 2022, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Early life and education

Chimaev who belongs to the

teip Teips (also taip, teyp; Nakh тайпа ''taypa'' : ''family, kin, clan, tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), ''also available online:'Чеченско-Русский сл� ...

Enganoy, was born in todays

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, which at that time was the de facto independent

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state that ...

. He started

when he was five years old and allegedly won a bronze medal at the Russian National Championships in the junior level. In 2013, when he was 18, he immigrated to Sweden with his mother, joining his older brother.

Wrestling career

After moving to Sweden, Chimaev wrestled at multiple clubs, including BK Athén. Considered one of the best freestyle wrestlers in the country, Chimaev won a gold medal at the 2016 and 2017 Swedish Freestyle National Championships at 86 kilograms, and in 2018 he did so at 92 kilograms. Chimaev has had a series of dominant performances in the tournament, posting an overall record of 12–0, which includes three

pins A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

, seven

technical fall In amateur wrestling, a technical fall, or technical superiority, is a victory condition satisfied by outscoring one's opponent by a specified number of points. It is wrestling's version of the mercy rule. It is informally abbreviated to "tech" as b ...

s and holds a combined score of 105 points, while only surrendering two himself, across all of his three showdowns. Chimaev has competed in a few

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

tournaments and in four

combat sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , olympi ...

fights. Chimaev competed against fellow UFC contender

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion i ...

in a

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

match on 19 November 2021, at Sweden-based Bulldog Fight Night 9, winning on points.

Mixed martial arts career

Chimaev first started training in MMA when he was 23 years old. He trains at Allstar Training Center in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, along with three-time

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

Ilir Latifi Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in Sha ...

and

Reza Madadi Reza Madadi (, (born June 20, 1978) is a retired Iranian-born Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist from 2006 to 2019, Madadi is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fightin ...

among others. Gustafsson (one of his main training partners) told a Swedish reporter that Chimaev was one of the best fighters he had ever trained with, during a press conference in June 2019.

Early career

In an interview with

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, Chimaev claimed he was inspired to start training in MMA during a night at work where he took a 15-minute break to watch the Aldo vs. McGregor main event. Chimaev stated, "I was watching his cGregor'sfight. I was watching him fight Aldo. I was sitting in night and was working. I was taking rest for 15 minutes and watched his fight. I always look at that like if the guys make so many money like millions and this stuff, why I can't do it now. I'm a fighter, I'm a warrior and I have something special inside me. I had to find some way and take out this to show to the people." Between September 2017 and April 2018, Chimaev had three amateur MMA fights. The first of them was against future

IMMAF The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organisation under Swedish law, IMMAF serves as a democra ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Khaled Laallam, whom he defeated via submission in the second round. He won his following two amateur fights, one by submission and one by technical knockout, completing his amateur career with a record of 3–0. Chimaev turned professional on 26 May 2018, at International Ring Fight Arena 14, against Gard Olve Sagen. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Chimaev's next fight took place on 18 August 2018, against Ole Magnor at Fight Club Rush 3. He won via submission with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

late in the first round.

Brave Combat Federation

After having his first two professional fights in Sweden, Chimaev signed with

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern organization

. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Benjamin Bennett on 16 November 2018, at Brave CF 18. However, Bennett withdrew from the bout and was replaced by undefeated prospect Marko Kisič. Chimaev won the fight via technical knockout in the first round after dropping his opponent with a left hand. 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 Ikram Aliskerov ( lez, Икрам Сабиран хва Алискеррин) (russian: Икрам Сабирович Алискеров; born December 7, 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo competitor who competes in the ...

on 19 April 2019, at Brave CF 23. This was Chimaev's debut in the welterweight division. He won the bout via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

after landing an

uppercut The uppercut (formerly known as the undercut; sometimes also referred to as the ''upper'') is a punch used in boxing that travels along a vertical line at the opponent's chin or solar plexus. It is, along with the cross, one of the two main pun ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the matchup was cancelled altogether when Chimaev signed with the UFC instead.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Chimaev made his promotional debut in a middleweight bout against John Phillips, replacing

Duško Todorović Duško Todorović (born May 19, 1994) is a Serbian mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Todorović started training taekwondo around the age of eight, continuing u ...

, on 16 July 2020, at

UFC on ESPN 13 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 13'' and ''UFC Fight Island 1'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 16, 2020 at the Yas Island#du Arena and Forum, du ...

. He won the fight via submission in the second round. This win earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Ten days after the fight against Phillips, Chimaev faced promotional newcomer Rhys McKee at welterweight on 25 July 2020, at

UFC on ESPN 14 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 14'' and ''UFC Fight Island 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu ...

. 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 Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures i ...

, who achieved four consecutive wins within one night at

UFC 2 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship Part II'' (later renamed ''UFC 2: No Way Out'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado, United States. The eve ...

. It was reported on 6 September 2020, that Chimaev would have another quick turnaround as he was booked to face

Gerald Meerschaert Gerald Edward Meerschaert III (born December 18, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he formerly competed for the ...

on 19 September 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 178 ''UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 178'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 36'' and ''UFC Vegas 11'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 19, 2020 at th ...

. 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 Leon Aaron Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion. A profe ...

in the main event of

UFC Fight Night 183 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 183'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 41'' and ''UFC Vegas 17'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 19, 2020 at the UF ...

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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 185'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 43'' and ''UFC Vegas 19'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 20, 2021 at the UFC ...

. 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

, on 13 March. However, on 11 February, UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

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.

later came out and said Chimaev was not retired and was just emotional after experiencing effects of

prednisone Prednisone is a glucocorticoid medication mostly used to immunosuppressive drug, suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and rheumatologic diseases. It is also used to treat high blood calcium ...

for his lungs during a training session. Chimaev returned to face

Li Jingliang Li Jingliang (Chinese: 李景亮; pinyin: Lǐ Jǐngliàng; born March 20, 1988) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes as a welterweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC welterweight ...

on 30 October 2021, at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took plac ...

. He won the bout via technical submission, choking Jingliang unconscious with a rear-naked choke in round one. This win earned him his fourth straight ''

'' award. Chimaev faced

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a grappler, Burns ...

UFC 273 ''UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Backgroun ...

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 Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore. As of May 2022, the company reportedly had 50 million customers and 4,000 employees. The exchange issues a token, Cronos. History The company was initially founded in Hong Kon ...

''Fan Bonus of the Night'' award. Chimaev was scheduled to face

Nate Diaz Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for over 15 year ...

on 10 September 2022 in the main event of

UFC 279 ''UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. 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 Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Holland has also competed for ...

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.

Training

Chimaev has trained at Allstar Training Center in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...

since he was 23 years of age. He moved there to start his

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

career in 2017, after previously living in another Swedish town,

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, where he trained at the local wrestling club. Chimaev continues to train alongside current and former UFC fighters such as

and

, with the latter being his main trainer. In 2022, Chimaev and UFC title challenger

Darren Till Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 ...

got in contact to train with each other, with Till arriving to Stockholm in February, and have since been training at Allstar Training Center and shooting content for

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

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.

Fighting style

Chimaev often utilizes his

in his fights to get his opponents to the ground. Once he is on top control, he employs different techniques to gain control over his opponents and land heavy

ground-and-pound Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

or seek submissions, while forcing his weight towards them. His

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

is very often compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov's, due to the similarities of the techniques, such as the handcuff lock and hooking the legs. Regarding strikes, Chimaev landed 192–2 in his first two UFC bouts utilizing this strategy. Chimaev also proved its effectiveness on the regional circuit as well, with a quick win over former two-time GHSA

champion Sidney Wheeler after taking him down with an outside trip. In addition to his grappling abilities, Chimaev will also

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in his contests. Although his striking is still relatively unknown and untested, it involves heavy knockout power from the

orthodox stance In combat sports such as boxing, an orthodox stance is one in which the boxer places their left foot farther in front of the right foot, thus having their weaker side closer to the opponent. Because it favors the stronger, dominant side (often th ...

while utilizing basic

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and mixing up

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

s. He also uses his wrestling to set up his strikes by

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

ing different takedowns and vice versa. By using his striking, Chimaev has been able to knock out UFC veteran

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

Personal life

Khamzat has an older brother named Artur, who competes in

. Chimaev represents Sweden in MMA competition, having moved to

when he was 19 years old. He carries a notable scar on his lip, which he got at the age of two when he fell down on concrete stairs, leaving him unable to breathe correctly through one nostril. Before he began competing professionally, he worked at a poultry factory in Kalmar and also did security work. Chimaev contracted

in December 2020 and suffered lingering symptoms that required multiple hospitalizations and the cancelation of a scheduled fight against Leon Edwards. Chimaev is close to Chechen leader

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov ce, КъадаргӀеран Ахьмат-кӏант Рамзан, translit= (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the ...

. Kadyrov gifted Chimaev a

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

, which he crashed months later. Kadyrov also allegedly convinced Chimaev to not retire in March 2021 and go back to Chechnya, which led to speculation on the media on whether Chimaev had been forced to do so. Chimaev was present during a livestream in which Kadyrov threatened to kill a minor who criticized his repressive rule. Chimaev has also sparred with Kadyrov, and appeared in multiple photoshoots with Kadyrov. In March 2022, Chechen dissidents criticized Chimaev's continued association with Kadyrov due to his repressive rule of the Chechen Republic. Chimaev got married on 21 May 2022, in Chechnya and the wedding was attended by Chechen leader

. Chimaev is close with fellow mixed martial artists

and

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) **

(Four times) **Record for fastest consecutive wins in Modern UFC history (ten days) **Record for quickest three fight win streak in Modern UFC history (66 days) **2020 UFC Honors Debut of the Year *

**''Fan Bonus of the Night'' *

**Knockout of the Night (One time) *Nordic MMA Awards – MMAviking.com **2018 Prospect of the Year **2020 Male fighter of the Year *MMAjunkie.com **2020 September Knockout of the Month **2020 Newcomer of the Year *

MMA Fighting ''MMA Fighting'' is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Founded in 2001, the site is notable for its breaking news coverage, podcast series, and ''The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani''. Overview ''MMAFighting.com'' w ...

** 2020 "Breakout Fighter of the Year" *CombatPress.com ** 2020 "Breakthrough Fighter of the Year" *

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of broadcasting of sports events, pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, Warner Bros. Dis ...

**2020 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

*Swedish Wrestling Federation **2018 Swedish Championships champion, 92 kg **2016 Swedish Championships champion, 86 kg **2016 Solacup Championships champion, 86 kg **2015 Hammarslaget Championships champion, 86 kg **2015 Swedish Championships champion, 86 kg **2015 Lilla Mälarcupen Championships champion, 86 kg

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–0 ,

, Submission (brabo choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

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, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:16 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Rhys McKee , TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , John Phillips , Submission (brabo choke) , UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:12 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mzwandile Hlongwa , Technical Submission (brabo choke) , Brave CF 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

, KO (punch) , Brave CF 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Sidney Wheeler , TKO (submission to punches) , Brave CF 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 ,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, India , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Marko Kisič , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ole Magnor , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight Club Rush 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:23 ,

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gard Olve Sagen , TKO (punches) , International Ring Fight Arena 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:05 ,

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adnan Music , TKO (punches) , Nordic Warrior 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Danijel Grbic , Submission (guillotine choke) , Kashio Battle 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Khaled Laallam , Submission (brabo choke) , Fight Club Rush 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, Sweden ,

Freestyle wrestling record

! colspan="7", Senior Freestyle Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - , Win , 24–0 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 8–0 , style="font-size:88%", 19 November 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Bulldog Fight Night 9 , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;",

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 23–0 , align=left, Albin Frid , style="font-size:88%", 7–0 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, June 3, 2018 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, 2018 Swedish National Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4,

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...

, - , Win , 22–0 , align=left, Tobias Mathisen , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 21–0 , align=left, Oskar Hjelm , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 20–0 , align=left, Farid Teymori , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 19–0 , align=left, Alireza Rezai , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, July 10, 2016 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2016 Swedish National Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3,

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

, - , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Anton Carlsson , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Fredrik Almén , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 16–0 , align=left, Henrik Martengård , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, May 7, 2016 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, 2016 Solacup , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2,

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

, - , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Christian Nielsen , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Christian Nielsen , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, September 26, 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, 2015 Hammarslaget , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4,

Hallstahammar Hallstahammar () is a locality and the seat of Hallstahammar Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden with 10,478 inhabitants in 2010. Overview The King Gustaf Vasa built Strömsholm Castle along the lake about 1558. Its current appearance g ...

, - , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Sven Engström , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Martin Sandin , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Farid Teymori , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , -' ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Naib Ilaladayev , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, July 4, 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2015 Swedish National Wrestling Championships , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5,

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

, - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Filip Krantz , style="font-size:88%", 4–0 , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Sven Engström , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Mattias Balkevärn , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Simon Brandström , style="font-size:88%", TF 10–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Naib Ilaldayev , style="font-size:88%", TF 14–4 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, February 3–4, 2015 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2015 Lilla Mälarcupen , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5,

, - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Samuel Thaken , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Billy Granberg , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Edgar Mrad , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–0 , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Emil Bertzell , style="font-size:88%", TF 12–0 , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chimaev, Khamzat 1994 births Living people Swedish male mixed martial artists Swedish male sport wrestlers Swedish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Chechen mixed martial artists Chechen practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Russian male mixed martial artists Russian male sport wrestlers Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Russian emigrants to Sweden Russian people of Chechen descent Swedish people of Chechen descent Sportspeople from Chechnya