YouTube megastar Logan Paul has asserted that Khamzat Chimaev is in for “a big day of smeshing.”
Taking to his official Twitter account, the online sensation and occasional boxer suggested that he’s picking Chimaev to emerge victorious in his highly-anticipated welterweight matchup against Gilbert Burns at tonight’s UFC 273 event.
The term "smesh" was popularized in the MMA community by Chimaev’s fellow Russian MMA stalwart and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Back when the Dagestani fighter was an active competitor, he’d notably warn about wanting to “smash” his opponents.
However, his accent would result in the word sounding akin to “smesh.” The MMA community soon picked up on this and “smesh” subsequently became a popular term in MMA jargon.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in October 2020. Meanwhile, Chechnya’s Khamzat Chimaev made his UFC debut in July of that year and is often compared to Nurmagomedov in regards to both his trash talk and fighting style.
On that note, Logan Paul, who happens to be an ardent UFC fan, has expressed his support for Chimaev. ‘The Maverick’ indicated that he’s betting on ‘Borz’ to beat Gilbert Burns in their upcoming fight at UFC 273.
Paul posted a tweet that read as follows:
“I got Khamzat Chimaez with a big day of smeshing. BOOSTED +150 on the #BarstoolSportsbook”
Khamzat Chimaev on a potential fight against Logan Paul in the UFC
No.11-ranked UFC welterweight Chimaev is scheduled to fight No.2-ranked Burns at UFC 273 tonight. UFC president Dana White has claimed that a win over the Brazilian could earn Chimaev a fight against former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington next.
The UFC boss recently appeared on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast where he discussed the possibility of Paul competing in MMA bouts under the UFC banner. A few months back, White seemed opposed to having Logan Paul and his younger brother Jake Paul compete in the UFC.
Nevertheless, he's seemingly had a change of heart and insinuated that ‘The Maverick’ could potentially be allowed to fight in the UFC down the line.
"You have wrestling and boxing. You’ve done jiu-jitsu, right? I’m not saying no. I’m not saying no."
Watch White and Paul’s interaction in the video below:
Khamzat Chimaev later took to Twitter and sent an ominous warning to Logan Paul. ‘Borz’ called out ‘The Maverick’ to a fight in the UFC.
Chimaev’s tweet read as follows:
“I'm waiting for you in UFC @LoganPaul”
Meanwhile, Paul has expressed interest in facing UFC lightweight fighter Paddy Pimblett in a middleweight bout in the UFC. Paul is 0-1 as a professional boxer and has never competed in the sport of MMA.