"The boo from the crowd was like nothing I've ever heard" - Khamzat Chimaev is emerging as the new James Bond-esque "supervillain" of the UFC, claims Michael Bisping
UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes that Khamzat Chimaev is becoming the organization's biggest heel after his controversial actions and stunning performance at UFC 279.
Chimaev was originally set to fight veteran Nate Diaz in the main event of last weekend's pay-per-view. During the weigh-ins, however, 'Borz' stepped onto the scale and came in at a staggering 7.5 lbs over the limit. To add to that, a backstage incident between Kevin Holland and Chimaev took place prior to the day of the PPV, causing the UFC 279 press conference to be called off as well.
Chaos ensued and a major shuffle of the fight card took place which saw the Chechen-born Swede get bumped down to the co-main event slot to face Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. Their bad blood was then settled in the octagon but the 28-year-old's attitude was frustrating to fans.
Chimaev appeared to show little remorse for any of his actions over the course of the weekend. During his post-fight interview, he told the crowd he "didn't care" that he missed weight and was showered with boos as a result.
Khamzat Chimaev savage interview post fight
#UFC279 https://t.co/rKvEsZqkuH
Discussing the weekend's events and Khamzat Chimaev's performance on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping stated that he's never heard a crowd react like that to a fighter before:
"The UFC officially has a new supervillain. I am of course talking about Khamzat Chimaev. Come on, when he walked out to that fight, the boo's from the crowd were like nothing I've ever heard. That took the biscuit, it was mental...He didn't give a sh*t. Afterwards he was flipping off the crowd, then he's talking sh*t, talking about killing people, I absolutely love it... He's a legit bad guy and straight out of a Bond movie."
Catch the full video here:
Josh Thomson and 'Big' John McCarthy admit they "lost respect" for Khamzat Chimaev after UFC 279
Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson and former octagon referee John McCarthy have revealed their disappointment with Khamzat Chimaev and his attitude following the culmination of UFC 279.
The WEIGHING IN podcast hosts spent much of the fight week discussing 'Borz' vs. Nate Diaz and were stunned when the card was put in jeopardy due to Chimaev's 7.5-pound weight miss.
While the pair understood that fighters will on occasion miss weight, they had issues with the fact that 'Borz' appeared to not care about it at all, which has upset a multitude of fans.
Thomson said:
"He understood he wasn't going to make the weight, he gave up. That's just in bad taste. That's very unprofessional. I lost a lot of respect for him. I was pumped on him early in his career when he first got in the UFC... I was like, 'Okay, this guy, I like what he's doing, got a little flair to him, he's a fun fighter', but it's kind of getting on me now when you show up that much overweight. Is this what we're going to see later on? How do you know he just won't do this?"
Catch the full WEIGHING IN episode here: