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Khamzat Chimaev Plans To 'Smash' Conor McGregor On 'Fight Island'

Khamzat Chimaev Plans To 'Smash' Conor McGregor On 'Fight Island'

Undefeated Khamzat Chimaev wants to exact revenge on behalf of Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Conor McGregor will be firmly focused on opponent Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 but it might be in his best interests to keep one eye on Khamzat Chimaev too.

Just days before McGregor rematches Poirier in his long-awaited UFC return, Russian-Swede Chimaev will be on 'Fight Island' for the third time as he takes on Brit Leon Edwards in the headline bout on Fight Night.

The welterweight, 3-0 in UFC after a series of quick and dominant victories in the second half of 2020, will be in the same vicinity as McGregor and that could spell danger.

Chimaev is also managed by Ali Abdelaziz, the main representative for McGregor's arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, and it's no secret he wants to exact revenge on behalf of the now-retired UFC lightweight champion.

Ahead of next month, UFC's rising star has sent a chilling warning to McGregor.

"If I see him on Fight Island, something will definitely happen," Chimaev said, as per The Mirror.

"The UFC needs to hide him."

Chimaev's threat is a serious one. The 26-year-old has already travelled to Dublin in attempt to track down and "beat up" McGregor following on from his disrespectful comments, controversial bus attack and the UFC 229 post-fight melee.

He ended up being stopped by police and detained in a cell for eight hours before he was sent back to Sweden.

"At that time, I was fighting as an amateur or a pro record of 1-0 when that happened," Chimaev said in Russian, as translated by Adam Zubayraev.

"It is that time when he insulted Khabib, and he also was talking about Zubaira (Tukhugov). At that time, nobody knew who I was. He was also talking about another guy who's also Chechen.

"I don't remember his name, but he told us he knocked him out in a sparring session. My mind was blowing up at the moment, but I'm living here very close to him. I was thinking that I would catch him in the streets or at the gym and beat him up. This is what he deserved."

His plan was to pretend he was training with McGregor as part of his preparations going into his title fight with Khabib at UFC 229 and then strike unexpectedly.

"Honestly speaking, I wanted to beat him up," he added.

"Many people thought I was coming there to help him to prepare for Khabib... Not only for Khabib. I was coming there to protect our pride and honor. I was going there for all of us. If that would not have happened, I would have maybe thrown, I don't know, some object... I think I was able to stand for myself."

What's more, Khabib's cousin Umar is also going to be in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi as he is making his UFC debut on the prelims for McGregor-Poirier II.

The 24-year-old bantamweight, 12-0 in MMA, is slated to face Sergey Morozov on the same bill.

Dana White might need some increased security presence...

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Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, MMA News, Khamzat Chimaev, UFC, MMA