Featured Image Credit: Image: The Mac Life
Topics: UFC, Khamzat Chimaev, Khabib Nurmagomedov
Josh Lawless
Topics: UFC, Khamzat Chimaev, Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khamzat Chimaev got into a cageside scuffle with Islam Makhachev's teammates after he was crowned undisputed UFC lightweight champion at UFC 280.
Makhachev produced an incredible showing to beat Charles Oliveira and end his 11-fight winning streak at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
There were huge celebrations, with childhood friend Khabib Nurmagomedov embracing the new champion and parading him all around the Octagon.
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However, there were also some sour scenes as Chimaev, who was watching the card, ended up being restrained by security as he looked for a fight himself.
It was Khabib's cousin, Abubakar , who Chimaev got into the altercation with and it's not clear what sparked the fracas.
It was reported that Chimaev was in the United Arab Emirates as he tried to negotiate his next fight but he went to extreme lengths in his bid to get back in the mix.
The welterweight has history with Khabib. In September, the UFC Hall of Famer was critical of his behaviour at UFC 279, when he clashed with Kevin Holland and forced the press conference to be cancelled.
Khabib called for Chimaev to have more Muslims in his team to steer him on the right path.
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“If you are a Muslim, you should have good people around you," he said during a fundraiser.
"Muslims who can say 'Hey, don’t do this.' I recently watched the weigh-in of Khamzat Chimaev. I followed what was happening with his weight and looked at his team.
"There are no Muslims around him and this is very bad. Because if you are a Muslim, you need good, strong people around you that will say 'Come back, do this.'"
Chimaev is undefeated in UFC and MMA overall, with his last fight a submission victory over Holland in Las Vegas.
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He was slated to face Nate Diaz but after missing weight, a card reshuffle was ordered instead.
Dana White has said he is hopeful of Chimaev competing on a mouthwatering card featuring the Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman trilogy bout in the United Kingdom in 2023.