By Steven J. Boardman
There is a second, proper earlier than the cage door closes, when Khamzat Chimaev simply… stares. Not the pumped-up, bouncing-in-place power you see in different fighters. Not the glare of a person making an attempt to persuade himself he is prepared. It is one thing else fully — stillness. Chilly.
It is the look of a person who is aware of what’s about to occur, as a result of he is completed it so many instances earlier than, in locations you will by no means see, underneath pressures you will by no means really feel.
Chechnya: Born within the Shadow of Conflict
Gvardeyskoye, Chechnya, Might 1, 1994. The Second Chechen Conflict had ended solely in title. Troopers nonetheless patrolled. The air carried the metallic tang of spent gunpowder and the load of loss. For many, survival meant conserving your head down. For a younger Khamzat, it meant studying early that power was the one actual forex.
By 5, he was on a wrestling mat. Not the padded, logoed mats of a Western gymnasium — the tough, typically threadbare surfaces of neighborhood halls and makeshift coaching rooms. Wrestling within the Caucasus is a ceremony of passage, and for boys like Khamzat, it was each an escape and a take a look at. Each takedown was a declaration: I’m nonetheless right here.
The Scar
There is a mark on his higher lip, the type of scar that makes individuals surprise if it was a blade, a fall, or a battle. The reality is much less dramatic however extra telling: as a toddler, he fell down concrete steps, splitting his lip and damaging his tooth. He carries it with out disgrace. In a method, it is the right metaphor for him — an early harm that did not cease him, it simply made him extra.
Exile to the North
At 18, Khamzat adopted his mom to Sweden. The chilly was completely different, however the grind was the identical. He did not converse the language. He labored warehouse jobs by day, cleaned eating places at evening, and skilled in between.
The Allstars Coaching Middle in Stockholm grew to become his proving floor. Right here, he skilled alongside UFC veterans like Alexander Gustafsson and Ilir Latifi, incomes a repute for by no means saying no to a spherical — and for making them depressing as soon as the spherical started.
It was in Sweden’s wrestling scene the place his dominance grew to become a reality, not a promise. Three nationwide titles. Virtually flawless file. He did not simply beat opponents — he broke them. Matches ended with opponents flat on their backs, staring up on the ceiling lights, not sure how they acquired there.
The Start of “Borz”
In Chechen, “Borz” means wolf. The nickname caught due to how he fights — stalking, closing in, attacking with out hesitation. However the wolf is greater than a mascot. In Chechen tradition, the wolf is a logo of loyalty, crafty, and survival underneath relentless strain.
Chimaev embodies all of it. In fights, his loyalty is to his personal nature. His crafty is in the way in which he forces opponents into drawback earlier than they even notice they’re trapped. And survival? That is simply one other phrase for victory.
The UFC Storm
When he debuted within the UFC in 2020, it was like somebody had opened the cage on a predator nobody was prepared for:
July 15, 2020
Chokes out John Phillips in his debut
July 25, 2020
TKO’s Rhys McKee simply 10 days later
September 19, 2020
Drops Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds with one punch
A UFC file that also makes seasoned fighters shake their heads.
Violence With a Smile
The moments that dwell in spotlight reels aren’t simply the knockouts — they’re the theatre. Towards Li Jingliang, Chimaev lifted him off the bottom, carried him throughout the cage, and screamed at Dana White mid-fight: “I am the king right here!” Then he slammed him down and choked him unconscious.
Towards Gilbert Burns, in one of the crucial brutal three-round wars in current reminiscence, Chimaev fought by cuts, exhaustion, and the uncommon sight of his personal blood to win a unanimous resolution — proof that he may take as a lot punishment as he offers.
The Shadows That Comply with
You may’t discuss Chimaev with out mentioning Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen chief accused of widespread human rights abuses. The 2 are shut — Chimaev has been photographed with him, skilled his sons, and accepted luxurious presents. Critics see this as complicity. Chimaev sees it as loyalty.
This connection, greater than his preventing type, is what makes him an enigma. He is not afraid of being tied to energy, even when that energy is controversial. It is a alternative that makes him a hero to some and a villain to others.
A Brush With Mortality
In 2020, COVID almost ended him. The virus attacked his lungs, his restoration was sluggish, and at one level he publicly introduced his retirement. “I believe I am completed,” he mentioned. However like all predator sensing weak spot, he hunted it down. By the tip of 2021, he was again — quicker, stronger, and meaner.
The Psychology of Worry
The worry Chimaev conjures up is not the sort that comes from flashy knockouts or hype movies. It is older. It is primal. It is the worry of being hunted by one thing that does not tire, does not doubt, and does not care about your repute.
When Chimaev stares throughout the cage, you perceive: he is not there to edge out a choice. He is there to take one thing from you — your breath, your will, your confidence — and he’ll benefit from the course of.
Du Plessis Awaits
At UFC 319, Chimaev faces Dricus du Plessis, a person who thrives on psychological warfare and public spectacle. Du Plessis will attempt to drag him right into a confrontation. It will not work.
As a result of Khamzat Chimaev does not discuss you into defeat. He takes you there.
