"He looks very good in the gym" - UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture praises Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev rose to prominence in the MMA world as one of the UFC’s breakout stars in 2020. 'Borz' dominated his opponents in his trio of UFC fights last year and earned widespread praise from many in the mixed martial arts community.

The Swedish MMA stalwart, who was born in Chechnya, Russia, was so very impressive inside the octagon that certain sections of MMA fans and experts drew parallels between him and Khabib Nurmagomedov. As noted, Khamzat Chimaev hails from Chechnya. His homeland is close to Dagestan, which is where the legendary Nurmagomedov is from.

The Chechnya and Dagestan regions of Russia are known for producing top-tier wrestlers and combat Sambo fighters. MMA legend Randy Couture highlighted this fact and much more during a recent interview with James Lynch. Praising Khamzat Chimaev, Couture stated:

“Oh, he (Khamzat Chimaev) looks good. He looks very good in the gym. You know, to have Dagestanis raving and talking about a guy, that has to get your attention if you’re a fighter and you’re paying any attention to what’s going on in the world of mixed martial arts. So, you know, there’s a lot of very tough cats coming out of that part of the world, and he’s certainly one of them. He took it by storm last year, and I don’t think that’s going to change. I think he’s going to bounce back from COVID just fine and be ready for the fight in October.”

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Randy Couture retired from MMA, whereas Khamzat Chimaev is pursuing UFC gold

Khamzat Chimaev (left); Li Jingliang (right)

Randy Couture’s last MMA fight was a second-round KO loss against Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in April 2011. Couture retired from MMA after this loss. He's still involved in the sport, however, primarily courtesy of his world-renowned Xtreme Couture MMA gym.

Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his long-awaited return to the octagon in October of this year. 'Borz' has been dealing with COVID-19 for the past several months, leading to the cancelation of multiple bouts he was booked in.

Khamzat Chimaev has now recovered from his affliction and is booked to face Li Jingliang in a welterweight bout at UFC 267 on October 30th, 2021. 'Borz' has vowed to eventually capture the UFC welterweight and middleweight titles. That said, the consensus is that Chimaev will first have to get past Jingliang to regain the momentum he lost during his time on the sidelines.