UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping thinks Khamzat Chimaev needed to have a flawless performance at UFC 279.
Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) quickly submitted Kevin Holland (23-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in this past Saturday’s co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in a 180-pound catchweight bout.
His performance might’ve been perfect, but Chimaev didn’t have the best week after missing weight for his originally scheduled welterweight bout against Nate Diaz by 7.8 pounds. That caused the UFC to shuffle the top three matchups on the card, and as a result, he was demoted to the co-headliner against Holland instead.
Fans let Chimaev hear it as he was showered with boos at the weigh-ins, during his walkout to the fight, and in his post-fight interview. None of that fazed Chimaev, though, as he was able to run through Holland.
“Chimaev needed that kind of performance,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He caused the press conference to be canceled, he didn’t make weight, the entire card got a shakeup in terms of who they were fighting, and that was all down to Chimaev, right?
“And if you go out there and you lose, or you go out there and have a boring fight, or you just scrape by a decision, it’s not the best look – certainly considering what you caused. The hassle, the stress, the expense, all of that, but it doesn’t matter. That is eradicated because he went out there, and he destroyed Kevin Holland.”
Bisping, who is no stranger to being a heel, admits he likes this look on Chimaev. The undefeated star was unapologetic for missing weight and was throwing up the middle finger when receiving a hostile reaction from the crowd.
“The UFC officially has a new super villain,” Bisping said. “I am, of course, talking about Khamzat Chimaev, ‘Borz,’ the ‘Wolf.’ Come on, when he walked out to that fight, the boos from the crowd were like nothing I’ve ever heard. I used to get booed a fair bit, as well, but that took the biscuit. That was mental.”
He continued, “He didn’t give a sh*t, and then he’s flipping off the crowd, then he’s talking sh*t, and he’s talking about killing people left, right and center. Listen, I absolutely love it. It brings a lot of controversy, it brings eyeballs, and it’s very, very polarizing. … He’s a legit bad guy. He’s straight out of a Bond movie.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
