Khamzat Chimaev says ‘I am the UFC ... I’m gonna take everything’ after sleeping Li Jingliang
- ‘Borz’ returns in spectacular style with first-round submission at UFC 267, putting the welterweight division – and beyond – on notice
- ‘He’s back and there’s no doubt this kid is special,’ says White, who has a new bonafide superstar on his hands in the Chechen-born Swede
In case you forgot, Khamzat Chimaev reminded the world he is the real deal – and a problem for the whole welterweight division, and beyond – with an almost effortless first-round submission victory over Li Jingliang at UFC 267 on Saturday night.
“Borz”, who exploded onto the UFC scene with three utterly dominant victories at 170 and 185 pounds in 2020, returned to the Octagon in Abu Dhabi from a year-long lay-off, having battled severe long-term Covid-19 symptoms which almost ended his hugely-promising career before it had even really got started.
But the 27-year-old Chechen-born Swedish phenom (10-0) picked up where he left off – and picked up China’s Li in the first round, carrying him across the cage to the watching UFC president Dana White, planting him on the floor and putting him to sleep, all to a thunderous reaction at the Yas Bay Arena.
“He [White] was watching his phone, that’s why I pick him [Li] up and take such long time,” Chimaev said at the post-event press conference on Fight Island.
“I couldn’t take him [Li] down early. I was waiting until he [White] look up to me, and I said ‘I’m the king, brother’, then took him [Li] down and start to punch him.”