![Khamzat Chimaev (middle) talks failed visit to Ireland to spar Conor McGregor (right) before Khabib Nurmagomedov (left). [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/b3ec8-17436567479268-1920.jpg)
![Khamzat Chimaev (middle) talks failed visit to Ireland to spar Conor McGregor (right) before Khabib Nurmagomedov (left). [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Khamzat Chimaev recently opened up about attempting to confront Conor McGregor in Ireland about a series of social media posts the Irishman shared before his fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
In a recent interview with Azamat Chef, Chimaev explained that he wasn't too happy about McGregor's seemingly insulting his compatriots during the build-up to the Nurmagomedov title fight at UFC 229. 'Borz' then saw the Irishman boast about dropping a fellow Chechen-born fighter during training and decided to fly to Ireland to see if he could spar with McGregor. He said:
"I just saw one of our guys, my compatriot... He [McGregor] dropped him in sparring and posted a picture. My friends told me to spar with him, and I flew over there, but I didn't find him."
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Chimaev continued:
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"No, they didn’t let me in. They arrested me at the airport and sent me back home. They must have mistaken me for someone else. Later, they sent me a letter saying that I could come back any time."
Bo Nickal explains why he'd pick Khamzat Chimaev over Dricus du Plessis as a potential opponent
Bo Nickal recently explained why he prefers fighting Khamzat Chimaev over Dricus du Plessis. Given that Nickal and Chimaev are widely considered two of the most exciting wrestlers to watch on the UFC roster, the American believes a fight against 'Borz' would sell more seats than most other matchups.
During a recent interview with Home of Fight, Nickal claimed that a fight against Chimaev could be one of the three biggest fights possible in the UFC today and said:
"100%, that's the most exciting fight [against Khamzat Chimaev over Dricus Du Plessis] there is in the division in my opinion. I think you know, as far as the fights in the UFC, you know, you got at the top, Jones and Aspinall, you got Ilia potentially with Islam or another 55er [155 pound] and I think right after that the most exciting fight next is me and Khamzat."
Catch Bo Nickal's comments below (21:31):
