Ahead of his first appearance as a UFC pay-per-view main eventer this Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev offered up a comment that is sure to have executives face-palming at their Las Vegas headquarters.
Chimaev is just days away from the biggest fight of his life. The undefeated middleweight has smashed his way through the top 10. And has fairly earned his opportunity to win UFC gold this weekend. Ahead of his monumental title fight with Dricus Du Plessis, the native of Chechnya has been doing the media rounds. And he created some controversy on Wednesday.
In a chat with ESPN analyst and former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier, the retired fighter joked that he was a far more “beautiful” man than the 31-year-old star. Chimaev is known for making some bold statements. And he was not going to let the remark go by without a strong response.
Khamzat Chimaev jokes that he looks like a terrorist?
“I don’t need to be beautiful. Girls like terrorists,” Chimaev said.
The rising star will be competing inside Chicago’s United Center on Saturday night. However, he has had difficulties securing a work visa due to his friendship with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. The politician has been accused by human rights organizations and foreign governments of being behind systematic atrocities and human rights violations over the last decade. He is also a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Chimaev has already been on the radar of governmental officials over the last few years. Joking about having a terrorist look isn’t a great idea. However, things may be very different for him over the next few years under the Trump administration.
The fighter has already suggested that the change at the top is why he was allowed to fight in Chicago this weekend. And with the president and several appointed officials being big fans of the UFC, he is sure to benefit from the new leaders of the US government.
