While blowout victories are nice, Khamzat
Chimaev gained a measure of credibility in his three-round war
against Gilbert
Burns at UFC
273.
To hear him tell it, it was exactly the type of test that Chimaev
desired.
“I like that s—t,” Chimaev said at Saturday’s post-fight press
conference. “I love my face bloody and sweaty and kick somebody,
punch somebody. Make money, I got [$50,000]. I’m happy.
“Before, I didn’t get that fight. It was my first fight like that.
I loved it. I was waiting for that for a long time. I had 10 fights
and 10 finishes but this fight happened. I bled, sweat and fought
three rounds.”
Indeed, Chimaev vs. Burns figures to be at the top of the list for
“Fight of the Year” in 2022 when all is said and done. Chimaev
appeared to be on the verge of a finish after dropping Burns in
Round 1, but his opponent was able to survive the follow-up salvo
of ground-and-pound. From there on, it was a back-and-forth war in
which both men showcased impressive durability under fire. In the
aftermath, Chimaev admitted that he might have been a little too
eager to get the finish.
“I was too excited to knock him out,” Chimaev said. “I was saying
to everybody all week I was going to knock him out in one round. I
tried to knock him out. That was wrong for me, from the
beginning.
“The guy was tough, I didn’t accept that. From the first second to
the last second, I tried to finish him. Next time, I’m going to
work to be a little bit smarter. I’m going to smash somebody. It
wasn’t something surprising from him, but it was wrong for me. My
coach told me all the time, you love to throw down and work more
technical. I just want to take his head off. Next time, I’m going
to work for that.”
Prior to UFC 273, Dana White indicated that Colby
Covington could be next for Chimaev with a victory against
Burns. Chimaev is on board with that matchup, but then again, he’s
willing to face just about anyone.
“If that guy don’t call the cops and if Dana White don’t go to
jail, I will be happy to come to the fight and smash his face,”
Chimaev said. “Of course.
“I said everybody. I’ll fight everybody. They said [Burns] was No.
2 and Khamzat is No. 11, and the fight was nothing good for
Gilbert. Who cares about that s—t? We all want to fight each other
and make money. We fight for our families. I don’t care who I
fight. I get my money, I get my $50 Gs, I knock somebody out and I
am happy.”