Khamzat Chimaev is making a habit of getting into physical confrontations with fighters when he's not even in the octagon.
The top welterweight contender was in attendance at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night to watch Islam Makhachev claim the lightweight title with a second-round submission win over Charles Oliveira.
Earlier in the evening, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, picked up a decision win over Gadzhi Omargadzhiev before heading cageside to watch his teammate claim UFC gold.
However, Makhachev’s post-fight celebrations were somewhat dampened by Abubakar getting into a scuffle with Chimaev which was caught on camera and subsequently went viral.
Several media members and fans captured footage of an irate ‘Borz’ being restrained by security while shouting obscenities at an off-camera Nurmagomedov who seemed to have seriously riled him up during a conversation that turned violent.
Although it’s unclear what sparked this hostile exchange, it appears the UFC duo has a history as Nurmagomedov posted a lengthy message directed at Chimaev on Instagram 2021.
Just last month, Chimaev plunged the UFC 279 fight week into chaos when he brawled backstage with Nate Diaz and Kevin Holland – who he ended up fighting after a bad miss weight derailed his fight with the one-time BMF title challenger.
In April, the 28-year-old had a verbal exchange with middleweight contender Joaquin Buckley who approached his friend and training partner, Darren Till, about a potential fight ahead of UFC 273.
Abubaker Nurmagomedov sends a message to khamzat chimaev after his comments about khabib
(translated from Russian) pic.twitter.com/1NV2BQm8oV
— 🔻Pablo_Escobar 🇵🇸 (@JM97_79) May 14, 2021Most read in MMA
Chimaev seemed to take offence to Buckley’s behaviour and suggested they could fight right now before security stepped in to calm the situation down.
Reacting to the situation, Dana White said: “What do I even say about that? It happens, especially with him. It happens.
“I didn’t even know Khamzat was coming tonight, he was invited by Abu Dhabi. So the seats behind me are owned by Abu Dhabi."
But White downplayed any suggestions Chimaev would be punished: “This is a rough business. Mean things are said, sometimes guys get into it.
"It’s our job at UFC to make sure that kind of stuff doesn’t happen. We weren’t right on it and [couldn’t] stop it from happening, but we got in there.
"These things happen. When you get 800 alpha males and females under contract, sometimes they cross paths at events and these things happen.
"It doesn’t bother me or hurt my feelings or any of that stuff. We handle it then we move on.”
The two have appeared to settle their beef after they were spotted enjoying some food together after the carnage of UFC 280.
When he’s not scrapping outside the octagon, Chimaev is one of the best fighters on the planet when he steps inside it and currently boasts a perfect 12-0 record.
Ahead of UFC 280, White suggested he could face off against Colby Covington in England on the undercard of Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 3 which is expected to take place early next year.
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But the boss had a warning for his rising star, who failed to make weight against Nate Diaz. “Khamzat wants to fight at 170 [Ibs]. I’m gonna give him one more opportunity to fight at 170.
"He needs to deliver and make the weight. I would love to do that fight in England, too. I’m telling you, I’m going to bring a badass card to England.”
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