Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Khamzat Chimaev needs to have more Muslims around him after watching the Swede miss weight ahead of UFC 279.
The legendary former lightweight champion had his own issues around weight when he was cutting down to 155lb during his fighting days. And he was a keen viewer as Chimaev showed up a stunning 7.5lb over the welterweight limit for his UFC 279 main event against Nate Diaz last week.
Ultimately, the promotion opted to switch up the card drastically, placing Diaz in a fight with Tony Ferguson and offering Chimaev the chance to settle his long-standing feud with Kevin Holland. The Swede defeated Holland within minutes, but fans were generally unimpressed with his demeanour throughout the week.
And Nurmagomedov feels that Chimaev, a fellow Muslim, must have more people from his religious background involved if he wants to continue succeeding in the sport. He noted that the fighter's team doesn't include many Muslims, which he feels is a bad sign.
“If you are a Muslim, you should have good people around you," Nurmagomedov said during a recent speaking event. "Muslims who can say: ‘Hey, don’t do this,’ I recently watched the weigh-in of Khamzat Chimaev. I followed what was happening with his weight and looked at his team.
"There are no Muslims around him and this is very bad. Because if you are a Muslim, you need good, strong people around you. [They] will say: “Come back, do this. When you become famous and rich, when you gain power and [around you] there are no people who will give advice or you do not listen to them, then something will happen. You need good people, even if you don’t like it, you need them."
Chimaev's wider team were part of further controversy throughout the fight week when a brawl broke out backstage at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, before any weigh-in controversy. There was reportedly an incident that got out of hand between teams for Chimaev, Holland and Diaz that ultimately caused the press conference to be cancelled.
What do you think Khamzat Chimaev should do next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
However, despite all of his recent controversies and fans disappointment towards him, Chimaev continues to win in impressive fashion. He took care of Holland quickly, a legitimate contender at both welterweight and middleweight, while his latest win going into the weekend was against Gilbert Burns.
His trainer Andreas Michael claimed that Chimaev has struggled to make the limit more than ever for recent fights since suffering with coronavirus in 2020. "They came in my room in the middle of the night, and they told me Khamzat is having problems, health issues," Michael told the MMA Hour.
"So, we all got scared. We called the UFC for the physician. And the physician, under close examination, said that he would not advise us that we continue cutting weight. And when a doctor tells you that, you get scared, right? I made that decision but I made the decision under the guidance of the physician.
"He was getting muscle spasms, shaking, vomiting. When he stood up, he was passing out. I was very worried about him. He wanted to fight Nate and he said 'Listen the doctor told me I can't continue' and I had to say I am going to stop the weight cut because I can't go against their words. He said the hardest thing for me is when my body shuts down when I am trying to make the weight."
