Is the bad blood between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev about to heat up once again? Following Chimaev’s much-publicized weight miss ahead of UFC 279 – which led the UFC to reshuffle almost the entire main card – Nurmagomedov, speaking at a Pakistani flood relief fundraiser blasted Khamzat’s behavior. Critically, Nurmagomedov blamed Khamzat’s failure to keep company with devout, practising Muslims.
“If you are a Muslim, you should have good people around you. Muslims who can say ‘Hey, don’t do this.’ I recently watched the weigh-in of Khamzat Chimaev. I followed what was happening with his weight and looked at his team.
Khabib Slams Khamzat Behavior: “There are no Muslims around him”
There are no Muslims around him and this is very bad. Because if you are a Muslim, you need good, strong people around you that will say ‘Come back, do this.’”
When you become famous and rich, when you gain power and there are no people who will give advice or you do not listen to them, then something will happen. You need good people, even if you don’t like it, you need them.”
A key factor in Khamzat Chimaev’s inability to cut down to the 170-pound welterweight limit – which he missed by eight pounds – was medical intervention. Chimaev’s coach, Andreas Michael discussed the health issues that plagued Chimaev’s latest weight cut. “He was getting muscle spasms, shaking. Vomiting. When he stood up he was passing out. I was worried about him.
Ever since he got coronavirus and all these health issues, he’s had a little bit of a hard time making the weight. Ever since that issue, his body has been a little bit off when it comes down to pushing it to the last drop. But I’m just speculating. Like I said, I’m not a physician, I’m not a doctor or anything like that, and I don’t claim to be one.”
It’s strange to see Khabib criticizing a fighter for failing to make weight considering that weight cutting also plagued Khabib’s career. Although he retired with an unblemished 29-0 record, Khabib notably missed weight for several major events, including UFC 160 and an infamous hospitalization ahead of UFC 209. The cut for UFC 209, one of his many cancellations against Tony Ferguson, saw Khabib sidelined for nine months.
Of course, Khabib may simply be talking about Chimaev’s brash, braggadocious persona, which is fundamentally at odds with his own more soft-spoken approach to the fight game.
What do you think of Khabib’s take on Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments.
