Khamzat Chimaev delivered yet another flawless performance at UFC 279.
‘Borz’ took on Kevin Holland in a five-round catchweight (180 pounds) bout in the co-main event. The Chechen-born Swede took Kevin Holland down in very beginning of the fight and then proceeded to submit him via a D’Arce choke.
Although no official reason has been stated, Chimaev may have been snubbed for the bonus due to him missing weight.
Khamzat Chimaev did not absorb a single significant strike in the fight. Despite his spectacular performance, ‘Borz’ did not receive a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus.
Khamzat Chimaev spoke to reporters following his dominant first round submission victory over Kevin Holland at tonight’s UFC 279 event.
Chimaev (12-0 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since defeating Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision at UFC 273. ‘The Wolf’ was sporting a perfect Octagon record of 5-0 with four finishes ahead of tonight’s affair.
Meanwhile, Kevin Holland (23-8 MMA) had entered tonight’s co-headliner on a two-fight winning streak, his latest being a submission victory over Tim Means back in June. ‘Trailblazer’ had gone 2-2 with 1 no-contest over his previous five Octagon appearances overall.
Following his lopsided victory, Khamzat Chimaev spoke with reporters at the UFC 279 post-fight press conference where he shared that his beef with Kevin Holland is now over.
“The guy is actually a nice guy, so I like him. Sometimes we don’t like each other before the fights.” Chimaev said. “It’s normal, we’re coming from the war to kill each other. Now that the war is over, he can come to our gym and be one of us.”
Khamzat Chimaev was then asked what he thought of the fans showering him with boos both before and after his win.
“You care about that sh*t? I don’t care. I care about my family, I care about my family, I care about my career, I care about my money… One day they’re with me (the fans), one day they’re not with me.
“People can say they don’t want to watch me fight, they’re liars. Everyone want to watch my fights, everyone wants to see a killer. Not that smoking sh*t and drug dealers here. I’m a professional athlete here.”
Watch Khamzat Chimaev Octagon Interview bellow | UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev says he offered to give up his purse in order to fight Nate Diaz
After his dominant victory, Khamzat Chimaev had a chat with Megan Olivi backstage. ‘Borz’ claimed that he offered to give his entire fight purse to Nate Diaz so that the fight could happen, but in the end, the matchup didn’t materialize.
“I could make that weight, the doctor stopped that. So yeah, what I could do now? I was waiting what UFC said to me. I said I want to fight so I gave all my money to that guy. This was almost two million… So I said give all my money to that guy, let him fight. If he is that gangster, he shoud fight for money. But he didn’t want to fight me, you know? So, who’s the gangster now?”
Diaz ended up fighting Tony Ferguson and defeated him via submission in the fourth round of the UFC 279 main event.
Meanwhile, after his dominant win over Kevin Holland, it remains to be seen whether the UFC will put Khamzat Chimaev in another welterweight bout. While he has reiterated that he is gunning for the 170-pound title, his egregious weight miss and behavior this past week could impact proceedings.
Watch Chimaev’s interview with Megan Olivi below:
