Khamzat Chimaev

Chimaev was born in Gvardeyskoye in the Chechen Republic of Russia. He began freestyle wrestling at the age of five and earned a bronze medal as a junior at the Russian National Championships. At the age of 18, he emigrated to Sweden with his mother to join his older brother Artur, who also competed in freestyle wrestling. Prior to launching his professional mixed martial arts career, Chimaev worked in a poultry processing plant in Kalmar and was employed in security in Stockholm.

He carries a distinctive scar on his upper lip resulting from a fall on concrete stairs at the age of two, which caused permanent difficulty breathing through one nostril. In late 2020, Chimaev contracted severe COVID-19 complications that required multiple hospitalizations and led to extended absences from competition. Chimaev resided in Sweden for several years before relocating to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2023, subsequently receiving UAE citizenship in January 2025.

Chimaev married in Chechnya on 21 May 2022. He has maintained ties with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who attended his wedding and trained alongside him. Chimaev has also provided mixed martial arts training to Kadyrov's teenage sons, cornering Ali Kadyrov during his professional debut.

After settling in Sweden, Chimaev competed extensively for wrestling clubs including BK Athén. He won gold medals at the Swedish Freestyle National Championships at 86 kilograms in 2015 and 2016, and captured a third Swedish national title in 2018 at 92 kilograms. Over his championship runs, he posted an undefeated 12-0 tournament record, outscoring opponents 105-2 across the three tournaments. In November 2021, he also defeated UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson in a headline freestyle wrestling match in Gothenburg.

Chimaev began training in mixed martial arts at age 23 at the Allstars Training Center in Stockholm after watching Conor McGregor fight Jose Aldo. Mentored by head coach Reza Madadi and training alongside veteran fighters Alexander Gustafsson and Ilir Latifi, he went undefeated across his amateur career. He made his professional debut in May 2018 at International Ring Fight Arena 14, defeating Gard Olve Sagen by second-round technical knockout, followed by a first-round submission victory over Ole Magnor at Fight Club Rush 3.

In late 2018, Chimaev signed with the Bahrain-based promotion Brave Combat Federation. He debuted at Brave CF 18 in November 2018 with a first-round technical knockout over Marko Kisic, followed just five weeks later by a 35-second stoppage of Sidney Wheeler at Brave CF 20.

Chimaev dropped to the welterweight division in April 2019 at Brave CF 23, scoring a first-round knockout over sambo world champion Ikram Aliskerov with an uppercut. In October 2019, he secured a second-round submission over Mzwandile Hlongwa at Brave CF 27. Chimaev was scheduled to challenge Jarrah Al-Selawe for the Brave CF Welterweight Championship in Stockholm in early 2020, but the event was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for his move to the UFC.

Chimaev entered the UFC in July 2020 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, submitting John Phillips in the second round at middleweight. Ten days later, he returned to the cage in the welterweight division and stopped Rhys McKee via first-round technical knockout. The ten-day turnaround set a modern UFC record for the fastest consecutive victories. Less than two months later, in September 2020, Chimaev knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds, setting another modern record for the fastest three-fight winning streak at 66 days.

After a prolonged recovery from COVID-19, Chimaev returned in October 2021 at UFC 267, submitting Li Jingliang in the opening round without absorbing a single strike. In April 2022, he faced top contender Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, winning a hard-fought unanimous decision that earned Fight of the Night honors. At UFC 279 in September 2022, after missing weight for a planned bout with Nate Diaz, Chimaev faced Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight co-main event, securing a first-round submission via D'Arce choke without absorbing a strike.

Chimaev returned full-time to the middleweight division at UFC 294 in October 2023, defeating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by majority decision. In October 2024 at UFC 308, Chimaev dominated former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, earning a first-round submission through a face crank that dislocated Whittaker's jaw.

On 16 August 2025 at UFC 319 in Chicago, Chimaev challenged Dricus du Plessis for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Chimaev won the title by unanimous decision, setting promotional records for total strikes landed in a title fight (529) and securing 12 takedowns. With the victory, he became the first fighter representing the United Arab Emirates and the first Chechen-born athlete to capture a UFC title. In his first defense at UFC 328 on 9 May 2026, Chimaev suffered his first professional defeat, losing the belt to Sean Strickland by split decision.