UFC President Dana White is a huge fan of surging welterweight Khamzat Chimaev. Although Chimaev’s fight against Gilbert Burns was third from the top billing at UFC 273, White told the post-fight press conference that it was “one of the coolest fights I’ve ever been to”.
“It’s one of the best fights I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the coolest fights I’ve ever been to. The place was so loud, and people were going crazy. That fight was eclipsing the co-main and main event all week, and I was talking to [UFC commentator Joe] Rogan, and [UFC matchmaker] Sean [Shelby], and [UFC matchmaker] Mick [Maynard], and everyone else, think about this: when is the last time you saw a guy come out of nowhere, nobody knows who he is, then fights a couple fights and then fights the No. 2-ranked guy in the world and wins?
Dana White on Khamzat’s UFC 273 Performance: “If you don’t think he’s the real deal, you’re out of your mind!”
When you get into the top-5 in the UFC, it’s no joke, man. Especially in that division. That division is straight killers. Tonight was a big test for him and he passed.” White continued, blasting any fairweather fans claiming that Chimaev’s hype train was finally derailed.
“Well he’s human. Any a****** that said that doesn’t think he’s human. He’s a human being and he just beat the No. 2 welterweight in the world with a couple of fights in the UFC. If you don’t think he’s the real deal, you’re out of your mind. Yeah, he’s human.
[Darren] Till keeps telling me, ‘This guy never gets tired, he never runs out of energy,’ but you can’t train in a gym for what happened tonight. You can’t.
I’m sure this week, leading up to this week, he’s had a ton of pressure on him, a lot of anxiety, who knows how well he slept last night, all the things that go into the buzz and energy. And I’m sure there was a huge adrenaline dump after that first round. This is s*** you can’t train for, and you either make it through it or you don’t. He made it through with flying colors.”
After taking out the #2 welterweight, Khamzat’s next move is clear: either the champ, Kamaru Usman, or Colby Covington, ranked #1. Dana White previously indicated that he would pursue Khamzat vs Covington, which could set up a title shot for the winner.
Is Khamzat Chimaev the real deal? Let us know what you think in the comments.
