Who is Ikram Aliskerov, the man who Khamzat Chimaev said was his toughest fight yet?
Ikram Aliskerov is the toughest fighter Khamzat Chimaev has ever fought. That's according to Chimaev himself, who dismissed claims that his UFC 273 opponent Gilbert Burns is the best opponent he's ever faced.
During his UFC 273 fight week media interview, Khamzat Chimaev said:
"I think one guy I met in Brave, Ikram Aliskerov, he has to be in the UFC. That guy's good. I think he won five fights after me. That guy's really good."
Chimaev and Aliskerov met in 2019 at Brave CF 23, and while the result was a violent first-round knockout win for Chimaev, Aliskerov managed to resist several of Chimaev's takedowns and judo throws early into the fight.
Watch the full fight between Aliskerov and Chimaev below:
Ikram Aliskerov is another beast of a Dagestani wrestler who is a four-time world champion and a two-time European champion in combat sambo. After going 3-0 in mixed martial arts Aliskerov decided to focus on MMA full time in 2017, signing with Middle Eastern promotion Brave Combat Federation.
Ikram Aliskerov is now 12-1 in his career with his sole loss coming to Khamzat Chimaev. Most recently he fought for Eagle FC in January 2022, defeating Nah-Shon Burrell via decision.
#EagleFC46 Official Decision:
Ikram Aliskerov def. Nah-Shon Burrell via unanimous decision! (29-28)
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A rematch with Khamzat Chimaev is Ikram Aliskerov's dream fight
Aliskerov is hopeful he'll get a chance to rematch Khamzat Chimaev in the future. In an interview with Smesh Bros, he said:
"To be honest, the rematch is my dream fight. But I'm not going to cut to welterweight any more. Yeah, I'd love to fight him at middleweight. It's a true dream fight of mine. I've got an upcoming championship fight. If I get it done there's a chance to fight in the UFC."
Watch the full Smesh Bros interview with Aliskerov below:
Aliskerov also felt a bad weight cut that took him months to shake off afterwards which had a lot to do with the nasty knockout he suffered at the hands of Chimaev. Aliskerov said:
"It was his night, so I don't want to make any excuses. I'll probably never compete at welterweight again. [Forty pound] weight cut was brutal for me ... I'd taken big punches, but this 'poke' caught me. So I think it's probably the weight cut. But I gotta give credit to Khamzat as well. He was prepared. He's a good fighter, as you can see."
Watch this highlight video of Aliskerov via Brave CF below: