Khamzat Chimaev (9-0) took the MMA world by storm, going from making his UFC debut to a main event fighter that took only 66 days to get three wins in 2020. “Borz” is your 2020 Nordic Fighter of the Year.
Khamzat made spectacular UFC debut against John Phillips (22-10, 1NC) in July on fight island. The Allstars Training Center fighter took the fight on short notice and moved up to middleweight for the fight. The strike count was 124-2 in a dominant effort, and earning a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus for his second round submission.
The wrestler had one of the shortest UFC layoffs as the “Wolf” stepped back into the cage just 10 days after his UFC debut to get another win over Rhys McKee (10-3-1) at UFC Fight Island 3, earning a $50.000 “Performance of The Night” bonus.
In his third bout of the year, he shocked Gerald Meerschaert (31-14) at UFC Fight Night Covington vs Woodley with a 1 punch KO. The fight was over in the first exchange.
The Sweden based fighter is now ranked as the #15 contender in the UFC and eying a future showdown with #3 contender Leon Edwards.
Former Fighter of the Year winners include:
• 2019 : Jack Hermansson
• 2018 : Jack Hermansson
• 2017 : David Teymur
• 2016 : Emil Meek
• 2015 : Makwan Amirkhani
• 2014 : Magnus Cedenblad
• 2013 : Tom Niinimäki
• 2012 : Alexander Gustafsson
• 2011 : Alexander Gustafsson
