"The guy is always in the gym" - Khamzat Chimaev showers 'deserving' Sean Strickland with praise as he shares training experience

UFC middleweight Khamzat Chimaev is set to return to the division for his first fight in a year and had some words of praise for the newest champion, Sean Strickland.

Chimaev is set to fight for the first time since his victory against Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. 'Borz' will take on former middleweight challenger, Paulo Costa, at UFC 294 on October 21.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, as part of documenting his fight camp, Chimaev spoke highly of Sean Strickland, his coach, and his team. He stated that they deserved the middleweight championship for their hard work.

“Now it’s my time. To smash that guy [Paulo Costa]. Then it doesn’t matter if it’s Izzy [Israel Adesanya] or [Sean] Strickland or somebody else, we’re coming for them. Strickland! Coming for him. If you stay there, man, coming for you too. Worked hard, deserves it. The guy was always in the gym, now he gets the belt. He has a good team, good coach. I have been there, trained with that guy. I think they deserve that belt. He has been active, fights with everybody."

Strickland and Chimaev trained alongside each other last year with former UFC fighter Darren Till.

Khamzat Chimaev also spoke briefly about his experience moving up to the middleweight division officially.

"I don’t know what the guys [UFC] waiting for, to give that chance to me. They’re hiding that belt from me. Anyway, like I said, when I smash everybody, they have to give that belt to me. It’s a different weight class [middleweight], different power. We eat different. Not hungry anymore. Now more training than before, more food, more energy.”

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's full comments below [3:40]:

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Former UFC fighter comments on Khamzat Chimaev's decision to represent UAE over Sweden

Khamzat Chimaev was born in Chechnya, Russia but emigrated to Sweden when he was 18 and has trained there ever since.

In the latest development, his manager Majdi Shammas confirmed that Chimaev had emigrated to the United Arab Emirates and switched his allegiance.

“He has emigrated, he is no longer Swedish. He wanted to emigrate.”

Former welterweight champion Jake Shields commented on the move, calling it a 'smart move' and citing the taxation policy in the United Arab Emirates.

He wrote:

"I'm no fan of Khamzat but this is a smart move. Now he will pay zero taxes and have freedom of speech."

Check out his post on X: