'I'm a man of peace' - Khamzat Chimaev says he represents 'the whole world' and is 'rooting for all good people'

UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev recently made a statement clarifying his national ideology and citizenship status on the Hustle MMA podcast.

'Borz' is often questioned by MMA media about his ethnicity and current citizenship status. He has now put a stop to these conversations, claiming that he's a 'man of peace' and represents the 'whole world' rather than representing a single nation.

He said:

"I'm not just a Russian native. I, so to speak, represent Russia. Every Chechen is now carrying a Russian passport. There are many nationalities in Russia, and everyone carries one passport. You can say, all the Russians. And in Sweden, we have it too...I'm a man of peace, so to speak. [I] love the whole world and represent the whole world . Why to even say that, 'he is a Chechen or he is Russian' or something like that? People ask me, 'why don't you go out with this flag or that flag?', and what does this flag mean? [The world] is constantly changing. It was like this in the USSR, it is like this in Russia now. The USA has changed too. Everywhere the flags change, but the people don't. In short, I'm rooting for all the good people." (Translation by Google Translate and @mightycaucasus via Twitter)

Khamzat Chimaev is a Russian-born Swedish fighter competing in the UFC's welterweight division. Chimaev originally hails from Chechnya, officially known as the Chechen Republic, a constituent of Russia.

The controversy regarding the citizenship of fighters hailing from Chechnya arose from the Chechen war which took place from 1994-1996, following which de-facto independence was established in Chechnya, while still being a part of Russia.

Watch Khamzat Chimaev's full appearance on the Hustle MMA podcast below: (English Subtitles available)

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Dana White says nobody in the UFC wants to fight Khamzat Chimaev

UFC president Dana White has revealed that nobody on the roster wants to face Khamzat Chimaev.

While on The Jim Rome podcast, the UFC boss said that, although everybody calls out 'Borz' on social media, in reality, nobody wants to sign the dotted line to face the undefeated grappler inside the octagon.

Furthermore, White praised Chimaev for his willingness to take a fight against anyone and at anytime.

He said:

"Khamzat Chimaev is one of the baddest dudes that I’ve ever come across and is literally willing to fight anyone and doesn’t care what the timeframe is or any of that stuff...Nobody wants to fight this guy. Everybody wants to get out on social media and say this or say that. But when it really comes down to it, nobody’s trying to fight Khamzat Chimaev."

Watch Dana White's full appearance on The Jim Rome podcast below: