Khamzat Chimaev (7-0) made a huge statement in his UFC debut on Wednesday. The Sweden-based fighter took on Welsh brawler John Phillips (22-10-1) in a middleweight bout on short notice at UFC Fight Island 1 and dominated proceedings right from the get-go.
Comparisons to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov soon emerged given his work on the ground as Chimaev eventually sunk in the submission in the second round to get the victory.
He notably took very little damage in the fight as well.
For those wondering, the final striking numbers for Chimaev vs. Phillips: 124-2. #UFCFightIsland1
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 16, 2020
For his efforts, Chimaev earned Performance of the Night honours as he took home an extra $50,000 for his win. In his post-fight interview, he called for the UFC to line the opponents up as he plans on becoming champion very soon.
“If you have a fight, give me a fight,” Chimaev said in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. “When you want, I’m going to fight. I’m going to be champion here. Doesn’t matter — give me one guy, I’m going to smash him like today.”
Chimaev usually competes at welterweight but given his performance, the rest of the middleweight division will have certainly taken notice as well.
