When Khamzat Chimaev likened himself to Khabib Nurmagomedov: "Same sh*t man"

Khamzat Chimaev fought Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. In the lead-up to the fight, 'Borz' made a statement highlighting his similarities with Khabib Nurmagomedov, particularly regarding their wrestling skills.

For context, both 'The Eagle' and Chimaev hail from Russia where wrestling is one of the most popular sports. As a result, glimpses of Russian fighters' wrestling prowess have been on display inside the octagon on several occasions, with many using it to dominate their opponents in a fight.

During a pre-fight interview ahead of UFC 294, Chimaev was questioned about his opponent Usman's wrestling. Interestingly, he downplayed it and pointed out how Nurmagomedov had defeated Justin Gaethje, suggesting he would do the same against Usman.

He said:

"It is American wrestling, brother. Mountain wrestling, there's a big difference. So, actually, guys you remember like what Khabib [Nurmagomedov] did [to] Gaethje and I've seen some videos when [Justin] Gaethje and [Kamaru] Usman wrestling. They wrestle like 50-50 maybe Usman became a bit heavier, little better. But Khabib shows wrestling skills, our skills, you know, so... everyone knows almost same style in the wrestling. Me and Khabib are going to be the same sh*t man."

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's comments below:

Nurmagomedov had an illustrious career as an MMA fighter, finishing with an impeccable record of 29 wins and no losses. After his victory over Gaethje at UFC 254, he retired from the sport. Currently, he trains fellow Russian fighters, including reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

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Rising middleweight prospect predicts outcome of Khamzat Chimaev's potential fight against Dricus du Plessis

After his victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev has proved his mettle as a potential title contender. As a result, there have been several rumors about his next fight possibly being against UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

In a recent interview with Home of Fight, undefeated UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal previewed the upcoming potential championship fight in his division. While pointing out Chimaev's wrestling prowess, Nickal shared his prediction, saying:

"I think I’d give the edge to Khamzat because of that wrestling advantage... You just don’t get [to train] against strong grapplers like that [Chimaev]. You’re not used to that. No matter what Dricus is gonna do, he’s not gonna be able to gameplan for that, [because] he’s not gonna felt [feel] that from anyone."

Check out Bo Nickal's comments below (20:45):