Exclusive: "He's very tough" - Rafael Fiziev details training with Khamzat Chimaev at Tiger Muay Thai

Rafael Fiziev recently discussed his joint training session with Khamzat Chimaev at the Tiger Muay Thai facility in Phuket, Thailand.

Chimaev is gearing up for a middleweight showdown against Paulo Costa at UFC 294, scheduled on October 21 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

'Borz' is highly touted for his exceptional wrestling prowess, explosive striking abilities, and innate athletic talent. Given these attributes, it's hardly astonishing that Chimaev frequently achieves feats that seem nearly impossible for the typical fighter to achieve.

Khamzat Chimaev is a frequent visitor to the Tiger Muay Thai training facility, which is also where Rafael Fiziev trains. 'Ataman' recently shared details about their joint sparring season during an exclusive interview with James Lynch on Sportskeeda MMA:

"It (sparring) was at Tiger Muay Thai. And I have a little bit of experience with him, just one round of MMA sparring, he didn't wrestle with me because he wanted to stay on striking with me. But we wrestled with him a little bit, he's very tough, he's tough on striking, and he's much tougher in wrestling."

Check out Fiziev's comments below (from 15:19):

---

Khamzat Chimaev fires shots after photographs of Paulo Costa sparring in 'Khabib's Gym' circulate online

The highly anticipated clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa has been brewing for nearly a year, with the initial spark occurring at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas just before Chimaev's victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279.

During the encounter, 'Borz' confronted Costa regarding some remarks made by the Brazilian fighter. However, the situation didn't escalate further, and they both went their separate ways. Since that incident, both fighters have engaged in a spirited exchange on social media, resorting to memes and other online banter to take jabs at each other.

Paulo Costa has seemingly touched down in the UAE in preparation for his upcoming fight next month, as he was seen engaging in training sessions. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev took advantage of the situation by teasing 'Borrachinha' when images of him training at Khabib Nurmagomedov's gym in the UAE emerged on social media:

"Kibib gym MaShaAllah my Muslim brother help everybody 🤝😂 ask him to help you maybe he will help you, but still gonna smash you povlovich🦾🤪😂⏳⚰️"

Check out Chimaev's post below: