Is Chimaev serious? UFC star befriends Chechen dictator, now compares Israeli PM to Hitler ahead of chance of a lifetime

It’s been over a year since Khamzat Chimaev last appeared in the UFC cage. On Saturday, however, that will change as he faces the challenge of a lifetime. But a week before the big fight, he’s gained attention with a completely insane comparison.

The UFC may be the absolute number one in the world of MMA, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have flaws. In particular, the avoidance of political issues that some journalists have pointed out in relation to the organization’s fighters is a thing that is annoying to many.

A significant number of fighters are friends, for example, with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. One of them is Khamzat Chimaev, one of the organisation’s biggest rising stars.

Chimaev was born in Chechnya but managed to get to Sweden, which he represented. Now, however, he will be in Abu Dhabi to defend the colours of the United Arab Emirates.

Borz has been asking for a fight for a year, but he hasn’t got one for a long time. While he was pampered by the organization early in his UFC career, the last two seem to have soured the relationship. There was speculation that the relationship with Kadyrov could be to blame.

Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu

Příspěvek sdílený Khamzat Chimaev (@khamzat_chimaev)

But now the Chechnya native has the fight. He was supposed to fight Paul Costa, but he can’t make the fight. But he’ll be replaced by a much bigger ace. Legend and icon, former dominant champion Kamaru Usman.

Chimaev and Usman will both be making their welterweight debuts. It’s a big fight for both, but Borz will have the toughest opponent of his career in the Nigerian nightmare. But if he’s had any problems with the UFC so far, what will come next?

Did Chimaev get himself into trouble?

The world is being rocked by the war between Israel and Palestine, and it is a conflict that is by no means uniting the world. One side stands with Israel, the other with Palestine. Few are neutral in this dispute.

This is no different for sportsmen and women who are affected by the conflict, for example, for religious reasons. One of them is Chimaev, who unsurprisingly sides with Palestine. However, if he only added to his social contributions in support of Palestine, not so much would be happening.

But Borz got himself into trouble when he posted a photo on Twitter comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Will this be the line the UFC definitely doesn’t want to go beyond?

It’s worth noting that in the reactions below the post, he received not only criticism, but surprisingly also a considerable wave of support.

Source: Twitter, Khamzat Chimaev