UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev says he handed the purpose of combating for cash a very long time in the past, and his newest feedback present the place a bit of that money has gone: a wrestling gymnasium for teenagers in his house village in Chechnya that he says price between 600,000 and 700,000 {dollars} to construct.
“I make hundreds of thousands. I don’t care.”
Talking on the present Past the Win, the undefeated UFC middleweight champion dismissed criticism about lengthy layoffs and questions on his exercise. Chimaev mentioned he’s snug along with his monetary place and has no real interest in chasing fixed bookings simply to remain within the cycle. “Individuals say I’ve lengthy layoffs, that I’m not lively? I don’t care. I make hundreds of thousands,” he mentioned, aiming straight at followers and pundits who suppose he has gone lacking between fights.
Chimaev harassed that his schedule is a selection, not an indication of decline or lack of starvation. Since 2023 he has moved to roughly one struggle per 12 months, however his star energy and place as champion maintain his paydays excessive sufficient that quantity not drives his choices.
Inactivity has adopted Khamzat Chimaev for years, and it has not been nearly match-making; sicknesses and accidents have repeatedly stalled his momentum and sparked fear about his long-term availability. After bursting into the UFC with three wins in beneath two months in 2020, he hit his first main setback when lingering results of Covid-19 led to a number of cancellations of a deliberate struggle with Leon Edwards and even a short retirement tease in early 2021 due to lung points.
Extra not too long ago, a scheduled 2024 headliner towards Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia fell aside when UFC president Dana White mentioned Chimaev was “violently sick” and his supervisor Majdi Shammas described a “persistent sickness” that had him out and in of hospital for a lot of camp, forcing him to withdraw.
White later admitted that, from the promotion’s facet, “each time he will get near combating, he will get actually sick,” and out of doors reporting has detailed a run of surgical procedures and fractures together with a weakened immune system that worn out lengthy stretches of coaching.
These points clarify why a fighter as soon as praised for the quickest turnarounds on the roster has shifted right into a sample of 1 struggle a 12 months, prompting questions on his sturdiness at the same time as he insists the well being scenario is now beneath management and that his present method is about choosing the right moments slightly than chasing fixed bookings.
A $600–700k wrestling gymnasium in his village
The standout element from the Past the Win look is what he says he has carried out with a few of that cash. “I constructed a gymnasium for teenagers in my village. Spent round 600–700 thousand {dollars},” Chimaev defined, outlining a wrestling-focused facility again house in Chechnya. He described it as a spot designed for youngsters and youngsters, not an arrogance challenge for his personal camps.
Footage from UFC content material round his UFC 319 build-up already confirmed him strolling by means of a coaching advanced beneath development in his village, saying he wished a wrestling area with no cage so native children might be taught the game first. Experiences on the time famous that the broader compound additionally consists of houses for his household, however Chimaev has framed the wrestling gymnasium itself as an funding into the subsequent era slightly than a personal, closed camp.
“Cash provides you the power to assist others”
Chimaev didn’t draw back from saying he enjoys getting cash, however he tied that on to assist for his group. “Individuals say I like cash. Sure, I do, cash provides you the power to assist others,” he mentioned. He claimed that past the gymnasium construct he frequently steps in when folks at house run into bother, explaining that if somebody within the village falls sick they will name him and he’ll assist cowl prices.
“I’m pleased with the cash the UFC pays me. I’m dwelling the dream,” he mentioned. He added that he makes much more exterior the cage due to the title he has constructed: “Khamzat Chimaev. Wherever I am going, folks wish to sponsor me, they wish to do enterprise with me.”
Khamzat Chimaev’s Subsequent Struggle
From his standpoint, that’s sufficient purpose to disregard speak about inactivity. The champion’s focus now could be defending his place, extending his incomes window and, crucially in his phrases, utilizing that revenue to fund initiatives like a wrestling gymnasium in his village and direct assist for individuals who attain out when they’re in want.
Khamzat Chimaev’s subsequent project is locked in: a primary middleweight title protection towards former champion Sean Strickland in the primary occasion of UFC 328 on the Prudential Middle in Newark, New Jersey, on 9 Might 2026. The matchup pits Chimaev’s suffocating wrestling and clinch work towards Strickland’s awkward, pressure-heavy placing and quantity boxing.
With Strickland coming in because the division’s No. 3 contender after rebounding from his loss to Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev enters unbeaten at 15–0 and using the momentum of his dominant choice win over du Plessis at UFC 319 final August, whereas Strickland brings a wealth of five-round expertise and the boldness of a former champion who has already upset one favored titleholder earlier than.
Stylistically, the narrative facilities on whether or not Strickland can keep upright and keep jab-heavy stress over 25 minutes, or whether or not Chimaev’s camp, which he says has featured marathon wrestling rounds in preparation, can drag the struggle into the form of grinding, mat-based tempo that has damaged most of his opponents thus far.
