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UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev got off to such a torrid pace against Kevin Holland that Holland felt he deserved some credit.
It was an unusual journey to the Octagon for both Chimaev and Holland entering UFC 279. Chimaev and Nate Diaz were booked in the main event before Chimaev missed weight on Friday, forcing the UFC to shake up the top portion of the card.
Holland was matched up with Daniel Rodriguez in a welterweight fight but got pushed up to the co-main event slot.
Chimaev and Holland got into it during fight week and were allegedly the main catalysts behind the backstage brawl that forced the UFC to cancel the pre-fight press conference on Thursday. The two fighters had gone back and forth on social media for weeks before tensions reached a boiling point.
Chimaev dismissed a glove touch attempt by Holland as their fight started and quickly got to work with his wrestling. This apparently led to Holland discussing Chimaev’s wild start during a scramble on the ground.
Khamzat Chimaev Says Kevin Holland Complemented His Fast Start
During a UFC 279 post-fight interview with ESPN’s Megan Olivi, Chimaev revealed the context of the in-fight banter between him and Holland.
“He said ‘You were quick, fast,” Chimaev said. “And I said, ‘Of course I’m fast. I’m the best guy in the world, I should be fast.’”
Chimaev is unbeaten in his UFC career and could potentially earn a welterweight title shot for his next Octagon assignment. He has earned recent wins over Gilbert Burns and Li Jingliang before the first-round submission of Holland at UFC 279.
Cooler heads have seemed to prevail following the pre-fight buildup between Chimaev and Holland. Following the win, Chimaev invited Holland to train with him in the future and called him a “nice guy” during his post-fight press conference.
Chimaev and Holland are two of the most notorious trash talkers in the UFC today and that didn’t stop them from having some banter during one of the biggest fights of their lives.
Were you surprised by how Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland played out?