Khamzat Chimaev biography: 13 things about UFC fighter born in Chechnya, Russia

Khamzat “Borz” Chimaev (Хамзат Чимаев) is a professional mixed martial artist competing in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. Born in Chechnya, Russia, he fights out of Stockholm, Sweden and he is of Chechen descent.

Before becoming a professional MMA fighter, Chimaev competed in judo and sambo. He is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

In 2018, Chimaev won gold in the freestyle wrestling championship in Sweden. He was the country’s champion in welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Chimaev stands 6’2″. He is one of the proteges of Iranian-Swedish retired professional MMA fighter Reza Madadi.

When Chimaev competed in International Ring Fight Arena, Fight Club Rush, BRAVE Combat Federation and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he was training at the AllStars Training Center in Stockholm. Here are 13 more things about the Chechen-Swedish MMA fighter:

1. In 1999, he started his wrestling training at a wrestling club in Chechnya, which was just across the street from their house.
2. In 2011, he moved from Chechnya to Sweden as an asylum seeker. He first lived in Malmö and moved to Lidkopings before settling in Kalmar.
3. As an amateur MMA fighter, he had 3 wins and 0 loss. He won at “Fight Club Rush 1” on September 10, 2017 in Västerås, Sweden, at “Kaisho Battle 14” on November 18, 2017 in Helsingborg, Sweden and at “Nordic Warrior 3” on April 14, 2018 in Nyköping, Sweden.
4. On May 26, 2018, he made his professional MMA debut at “IRFA 14” in Uppsala, Sweden where knocked out Gard “Ragnarok” Olve Sagen of Norway.
5. On August 18, 2018, he earned his second professional MMA win by submitting Ole Magnor of Norway via rear-naked choke at “Fight Club Rush 3” in Västerås.
6. From November 2018 to October 2019, he won four BRAVE CF fights. He defeated Marko Kisič of Austria at “BRAVE CF 18” in Bahrain, Sidney “The All-American Kid” Wheeler of the United States at “BRAVE CF 20” in India, Ikram Aliskerov of Russia at “BRAVE CF 23” in Jordan and Mzwandile “Shakebone” Hlongwa of South Africa at “BRAVE CF 27” in the United Arab Emirates.
7. On March 21, 2020, the Swedish Martial Arts Association selected him as the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year over champions in karate and kickboxing.
8. On July 16, 2020, he made his UFC debut at “UFC on ESPN 13” on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He submitted John “The Welsh Wrecking Machine” Phillips of Wales via D’Arce choke. On July 26, 2020, he knocked out Rhys “Skeletor” McKee of Northern Ireland via punches at “UFC on ESPN 14” on Yas Island.
9. On August 24, 2020, he attended “BRAVE CF 40” in Stockholm to support his teammate Husein Kadimagomaev of Switzerland, who knocked out Sven “Fujin” Fortenbacher of Germany. On September 19, 2020, he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert of the U.S. at “UFC Fight Night 178” in Enterprise, Nevada, USA.
10. On September 25, 2021, he cornered his Allstars Training Center teammate Bilal “Borz” Tipsaev, who fought Glenn McVeigh of Northern Ireland at “BRAVE CF 54” in Konin, Poland. On October 30, 2021, he submitted Jingliang Li of China at “UFC 267” on Yas Island.
11. On April 9, 2022, he defeated Gilbert Burns of Brazil at “UFC 273” in Jacksonville, Florida, USA via unanimous decision.
12. On September 10, 2022, he submitted Kevin Holland of the U.S. via Brabo choke at “UFC 279” in Enterprise.
13. He was 29 years old when he defeated Kamaru Usman on October 21, 2023 at “UFC 294” in Abu Dhabi, which improved his professional MMA record to 13 wins and 0 loss.