Not Gilbert Burns or Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev reveals toughest opponent he faced in UFC so far: "I tried to choke him for five minutes"

Khamzat Chimaev has defeated UFC champions and UFC title challengers alike, but one man stands out as his toughest opponent to date. In a revelation that may be surprising to some, 'Borz' did not select Robert Whittaker or Gilbert Burns for that distinction.

Chimaev selected former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman when answering this question. This is impressive because Usman took that bout on short notice. Speaking to Azamat_Chef, the surging middleweight phenom discussed who the most challenging UFC competitor he has clashed with, saying:

"I would say Kamaru Usman. His wrestling is very good, he defended well against grappling too, he never gave me his neck. I tried to choke him for five minutes, but I didn't succeed."

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's breakdown of why Kamaru Usman was his toughest adversary below:

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Khamzat Chimaev's toughest UFC opponent offers his take on their fight

Khamzat Chimaev praised Kamaru Usman during this recent interview, and 'The Nigerian Nightmare' also previously complimented the Chechen-born fighter in the wake of their battle. Usman touched on what it was like to fight the next likely contender for the UFC middleweight title.

Usman did this relatively shortly after 'Borz' secured his emphatic submission win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. Describing on the Pound 4 Pound podcast what it was like to test skills against the 30-year-old unbeaten professional mixed martial artist, Usman said:

"Khamzat is hell in that first round... It's hell for anybody. Do I think he can do that to Dricus [du Plessis]? I think 100 percent he could take Dricus down. I think he can keep him down, but I don't know if he can get the finish because Dricus is very, very tough.

"There's a reason Dricus is the champ... Will Khamzat take him down? Yes. Could he keep him down? Yes, maybe the whole first round. But can he finish him? I don't know."

Chimaev faced Usman at UFC 294 after a planned fight versus Paulo Costa fell through after the Brazilian pulled out due to an infected elbow. The former UFC welterweight champion capitalized on this vacancy as he aimed to rebound from a pair of losses to Leon Edwards in 170-pound title fights.

On Oct. 21, 2023, the two men tested their skills in a middleweight match-up that saw Chimaev best Usman by a majority decision.

Check out Kamaru Usman's comments below (29:45):