"I was only watching his head" - Khamzat Chimaev addresses taking down Kevin Holland as latter tried to touch gloves at UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev was able to finish Kevin Holland in the first round of their last-minute bout. 'Borz' secured a takedown early into the round and applied relentless pressure from that point onwards until he secured the submission.
Rumors began to circle that when the fight started, Holland went towards Chimaev with his hand raised, apparently looking to touch gloves in a show of respect. Fans have claimed that this is when 'Borz' dove in for the takedown, and that is was a display of bad sportsmanship.
The Chechen was asked if he was aware of his opponent wanting to touch gloves when he appeared in front of the media at the post-fight press conference. 'Borz' said this:
"How I gonna see that? I wanna take off his head, not gonna watch his hands. So I was only watching his head, like where is his head. So I don't know, always people find some funny things to say. So if he wanna go back, we go back and I squeeze his head again."
Watch the interview below from 6:00:
Khamzat Chimaev seemed to have no idea what the reporter was referring to, as he was focused on the job at hand, winning the fight.
Khamzat Chimaev says he could have made weight at UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev was one half of the headline act at UFC 279, and him missing weight almost brought the entire event to the ground. News broke early on in the day of the official weigh-ins that 'Borz' was having weight issues, but no one could have guessed that he would come in at an astonishing 178.5 lbs.
The UFC reacted quickly and were able to save the card by reallocating the matchups of the three main fights. Chimaev faced Kevin Holland in on the new fight card, and was able to defeat 'The Trailblazer' via submission. 'Borz' was interviewed by Megan Olivi after his win and reiterated that he would've made the weight if not for the doctor stopping him.
"I could make that weight so... The doctor stopped that sh*t. What I could do?"
Watch the interview below from 1:13:
Khamzat Chimaev may have wanted the original fight with Diaz to go ahead, but you could make the argument that a victory over Kevin Holland would serve Chimaev's career far more at this point. Everyone expected 'Borz' to blast through Diaz, whereas Holland was given more of a chance of winning.