Watch: Khamzat Chimaev releases footage of his dominant freestyle wrestling days
Khamzat Chimaev is widely-revered for his overall grappling prowess, particularly his outstanding wrestling skills. The fan-favorite UFC star has now taken to Instagram to reveal footage from his freestyle wrestling matches earlier in his career.
Chimaev, who hails from Chechnya, has been wrestling since the age of five and purportedly won a bronze medal at the junior level at the Russian National Championships. He moved to Sweden at 18 and established himself as one of the country's best wrestlers. ‘Borz’ is a three-time Swedish Freestyle National Championships winner.
Chimaev earned gold medals in 2016 and 2017 in the 86-kilogram category and captured another gold in 2018 in the 92-kilogram category at the Swedish Freestyle National Championships. The No. 3-ranked UFC welterweight boasts an undefeated 11-0 professional MMA record and is heralded amongst the best grapplers in the UFC.
On that note, taking to his Instagram Stories, Khamzat Chimaev has posted footage from his old freestyle wrestling matches.
You can watch the video HERE. The footage features Chimaev effortlessly lifting an opponent off the mat and slamming him back down. Chimaev’s also seen dragging another opponent in a single-leg takedown attempt, downing them to the mat and taking their back.
Arnold Allen believes Khamzat Chimaev could fight for a UFC title in multiple weight classes
Khamzat Chimaev’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in a three-round slugfest at UFC 273 on April 9. The consensus is that Chimaev is likely to fight Colby Covington next. A win there could earn him a UFC welterweight title shot.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, UFC featherweight Arnold Allen discussed Chimaev’s meteoric rise and suggested that the 27-year-old could fight for UFC titles at both welterweight and middleweight.
last night!This was WAR 💥
@KChimaev and @GilbertDurinho brought the 🔥 last night! https://t.co/LMklFEpYCX
Allen athat while competing at welterweight would be a wise move for Chimaev, the wrestling savant stands a better chance against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya than UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Allen said Chimaev enjoyed a significant edge in the wrestling department against kickboxing veteran Adesanya. But Usman's exceptional wrestling skills would mean he's a match Chimaev in that department, which would thereby make a fight against Usman much tougher for ‘Borz.’ Allen said:
"I think maybe there's more success against someone like Israel than Usman with the wrestling advantage, yeah, I don't think he would struggle. His wrestling is elite but, yeah, if he gets in a stand-up match with Adesanya, I think he gets caught a lot."