Joe Rogan is in awe of Khamzat Chimaev. The ethnic Chechen, of course, was perhaps the most hyped prospect in UFC history following his heroics in the ‘Fight Island’ days, which saw him not only fight three opponents within three months, but do so at two different weight classes. Not to mention he won a $50k bonus in all three fights.
While a majority decision victory over Kamaru Usman and his somewhat disappointing performance in that bout may have dampened his hype, ‘Borz’s persistent health issues have turned the fans against him. Many think that because he became a global superstar so quickly after coming to the UFC, the fame, and money have gone to his head. After all, just last year Dana White had admitted that after Conor McGregor, Chimaev was the fighter fans wanted to see in action the most.
Joe Rogan seemingly agrees with the fan take on this. Rogan still is seemingly hyped on Chimaev, defending ‘Borz’ on the UFC 305 Fight Companion show, he told his friends Brendan Schaub, Tony Hinchcliffe, and Brian Simpson “Bro he’s [Chimaev’s] legit, man.” But the Texas resident was quick to point out that Chimaev had almost made it a habit to pull out or turn down fights because of alleged health issues in the recent past.
He felt that Chimaev, since becoming a superstar in the Muslim world, and his proximity with some of the most powerful people in the world, including the UAE Royals and Ramzan Kadyrov, the dictator of his native Chechnya, had indeed gone to his head.
“I mean how many fights has Khamzat had to pull out of? That [Chimaev fighting regularly] was before he got rich and famous. The problem is he’s like so revered in the Muslim world, you know, he’s got like that Chechnyan leader [Ramzan Kadyrov], loves him and you know he’s the f***ing man now. He’s driving to Mercedes, you know what I’m saying,” Joe Rogan added.
While he may be living the good life, now Chimaev needs to get serious. After all, ‘Borz’ is facing a huge challenge that would mean the difference between him fighting for the title or making his way up the division once again.
Khamzat Chimaev was set to face former champion Robert Whittaker on the first-ever UFC card in Saudi Arabia two months ago. The winner of that fight could have expected to either see themselves fight for the title straightaway or face Sean Strickland in a number one title contender bout. However, in what has become somewhat of a theme, the Emirati citizen had to pull out of the clash because of a ‘violent’ illness.
Despite the withdrawal, Chimaev still finds himself firmly in the title picture. Now, he is once again scheduled to face ‘The Reaper’, this time in Abu Dhabi on UFC 308 this October. With Whittaker having knocked out Chimaev’s replacement Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi, the Kiwi is now even higher in the title picture.
This, of course, means that if ‘Borz’ defeats ‘Reaper’, he will be, at most, one step from a title shot. In MMA, nothing turns around soured fan sentiment like a good win, and if Chimaev indeed gets a good win over Whittaker, he may get some of his old thunder and hype back. Do you think Chimaev will beat Robert Whittaker on UFC 308? Drop your predictions in the comments below.
