Khamzat Chimaev on Why He’ll Beat Israel Adesanya & Kamaru Usman

Khamzat Chimaev has been buzzing the MMA world on account of what he’s done in the Octagon to date. But the undefeated and rising star continues to make noteworthy noise outside of the cage as well.

Chimaev says he’d beat both Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya

The 26-year-old fighter jumped into MMA headlines this past July, by stopping John Phillips and then Rhys McKee in a ten day span. By doing so, Chimaev became the first fighter to date to win two UFC bouts in that time frame (not including tournaments of course).

Then last month, Chimaev ensured the hype train remained on track, by taking out Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds.

Well, if you’ve been following Chimaev’s rise, you also know he hasn’t been shy about calling out various stars via social media. That includes names like Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and the middleweight champ, Adesanya.

Recently the Chechen-born, Swedish fighter spoke with Dan Hardy. When asked to weigh-in on Adesanya’s memorable and impressive stoppage of Paulo Costa last month, Chimaev said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I think Paulo Costa was scared in this fight,” Chimaev said. “I don’t know why people are scared to go in the cage and fight.

In the gym, everybody’s tough, like hard sparring. Then (they) come to the cage, they are being chicken. I don’t understand this mentality.

“(Adesanya is) good in the standup, but nobody did wrestling against him. Yoel Romero, he only threw three or four punches in the standup. … 

can beat this guy. How is he going to come up from under me if I take him down? I don’t think he will. I’m going to beat his face.”

There you have it. Chimaev also, however, outlined why he’s confident he’d end the reign of the welterweight champ, Usman.

“(Usman is) a good fighter, but doesn’t have that knockout punch like I have and he doesn’t have wrestling like me,” Chimaev said.

“What is he going to do? If I do my hard work in the gym, nobody can beat me in the fight.”

First things first

Now, on account of what Chimaev’s done in his UFC run to date, and the abilities he’s showcased, his confidence isn’t a surprise.

That said, some will note that he has yet to face a top-tier contender in the UFC. That will change, however, on December 19th.

Chimaev (9-0) is expected to battle Leon Edwards (18-3) on that date, who has 8 straight fights. ‘Rocky’ is currently ranked #3 in the UFC’s welterweight division.