"Only one fighter in the history of the UFC has better cardio than Colby Covington" - Brendan Schaub on Khamzat Chimaev potentially fighting 'Chaos'
Khamzat Chimaev looked to be calling out his next opponent on social media late last month, naming Colby Covington.
It may have taken some fans and MMA pundits by surprise. That's considering the fact that Chimaev missed weight for his scheduled welterweight bout against Nate Diaz a few weeks prior, weighing 7.5 pounds over the limit.
However, that does not seem to have deterred 'Borz' from targeting the 170-pound gold, as he now has his eyes set on a fight with 'Chaos'.
The matchup appears to be one that many fans would like to see, and the pair of welterweights have a similar wrestling pedigree. However, Brendan Schaub believes that a fight with Covington would be tough, noting the incredible cardio of the American.
Schaub broke down the potential fight on the latest episode of The Schaub Show, and said the following:
"I can go through Colby's career and give you very fine examples about how he is a cardio f***ing machine. There's only one fighter in the history of the UFC that has better cardio than Colby Covington, and that's Kamaru Usman. That's it, that's where he might have a bit of an issue."
Watch the video below:
It will be interesting to see how the UFC decides to handle Khamzat Chimaev's drastic weight miss at UFC 279. A fight against Covington could be a massive affair, but many have suggested that 'Borz' should be made to fight at middleweight moving forward.
Khamzat Chimaev posts cryptic Instagram video amidst reports of his passport being seized in Russia
News broke yesterday that Khamzat Chimaev had his passport seized when he traveled to Russia, meaning that he was apparently stuck in the country.
Rumors suggested that the situation arose through the Russian government's effort to recruit militrary-aged males to fight in the war with Ukraine. With that, MMA fans began to panic about the future of the Chechen-born Swedish fighter.
However, Brett Okamoto then posted a series of tweets that refuted the story about Chimaev's passport. The ESPN reporter noted that Chimaev's manager had denied the claims.
"Khamzat Chimaev tells me he is visiting family in Russia and will return to Sweden in two weeks. 'Start training camp, fight somebody, find somebody, smash somebody, make money.' "
See the tweets below:
Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) tells me he is visiting family in Russia and will return to Sweden in two weeks. “Start training camp, fight somebody, find somebody, smash somebody, make money.”
I just spoke to Khamzat Chimaev's (@KChimaev) manager Majdi Shammas, who told me reports of Khamzat being stuck in Russia with a revoked passport are not true. Khamzat is in Russia, but there are 'no problems' with any travel restrictions according to Shammas.
However, earlier today, Chimaev posted a cryptic video to his Instagram account, which some have suggested may contradict Okamoto's report.
Without a direct message from Khamzat Chimaev himself, it is impossible to know what is really going on. Either way, clarification will likely emerge soon enough.