“God bless him, I say” - Michael Bisping defends Khamzat Chimaev for pulling the ‘Daniel Cormier towel trick’
![Khamzat Chimaev (left), Michael Bisping (right) [Images courtesy: @khamzat_chimaev @mikebisping on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/10/db019-16356115064751-1920.jpg?w=500)
Khamzat Chimaev recently had many fans of the UFC questioning his decision to pursue a career at welterweight after initially missing weight for his fight with Li Jingliang.
'Borz' was given an extra hour to hit the welterweight limit, as he only missed weight by a pound. However, when he returned, Chimaev could clearly be seen resting his hands on the towel, a classic move to cheat the scale.
▶Khamzat Chimaev initially missed weight. (171.5)
▶He comes out to try again and blatantly holds towell.
▶Commission is baffled when he weighs in at 166.
▶They make him come out a third time without cheating, makes weight at 171 lbs. https://t.co/jObcx7txog
This resulted in him weighing in at 166lbs. This bizarre discrepancy in weight quickly resulted in Khamzat Chimaev having to weigh in yet again, this time with the officials ensuring his hands remained raised above the towel. He ultimately hit weight and is now on track to face off against Li Jingliang.
Former UFC middleweight champion and now UFC commentator and analyst Michael Bisping reacted to Khamzat's antics in a video posted to his YouTube channel. Bisping stated that:
"Anyway, Khamzat comes back in, he's supposedly cut the pound, which he did do. But he leans on the towel, okay, he's leaning on the towel which as I say, at the very least, supports the weight of your arms, okay. And he weighed 166lbs... That ain't right. There's no way you went from 171.5, missing weight, to now coming back in at 166... God bless him I say."
You can check out the full video from Michael Bisping's YouTube channel below:
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Li Jingliang
At UFC 267, Khamzat Chimaev faces off against his first ranked UFC opponent to date. He was initially scheduled to fight top contender Leon Edwards, although that match-up was scrapped after both men suffered from serious cases of COVID-19.
Now fully recovered, Chimaev will compete against the No.11-ranked UFC welterweight Li Jingliang. 'The Leech' is coming off an impressive KO victory against Santiago Ponzinibbio and will be looking to steal some of the hype surrounding Chimaev.
However, if 'Borz' is victorious here, he will likely break into the top 10 of the 170lb division. From there, he would only be two or three fights away from a shot at the welterweight belt.