MMA Fighting’s 2020 Breakout Fighter of the Year: Khamzat Chimaev
From his short notice octagon debut to his potential title eliminator, Khamzat Chimaev has made his presence felt in a big way in 2020.
“Borz” joined the UFC in July and absolutely tore through John Phillips in a middleweight bout at UFC on ESPN 13. A little over one week later, he returned – dropping down to welterweight in the process – and rolled over Cage Warriors and BAMMA standout Rhys McKee to become the star of Fight Island.
An enigmatic athlete was born, one the MMA world couldn’t ignore for a single episode. He was a man that said very little. But when he did, it got people talking.
As Chimaev’s star rose, he found himself double-booked against Gerald Meerschaert and Demian Maia. He was on the hook for back-to-back fights in two weight classes, one against a 44-fight veteran with a high finishing rate, and the other against a multi-time UFC title challenger widely considered to be a legend of the sport. In the end, though, only one of those fights transpired.
In one of the biggest “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments of the year, Chimaev was standing over a knocked-out Meerschaert just 17 seconds and one punch into the co-main event of UFC Vegas 11,
There were and still are lingering questions about Chimaev’s ceiling. But when UFC President Dana White revealed to Jim Rome that the breakout star would headline UFC Vegas 17 against Leon Edwards, it wasn’t a shocking revelation. Chimaev is 3-0 in the UFC over a two-month period and is now potentially one win away from a welterweight title shot. He is setting new precedents.
Unfortunately, the matchup was postponed when Edwards tested positive for COVID-19; it is now set to headline UFC Fight Island 8 on Jan. 20 in Abu Dhabi. In the grand scheme of 2021, Chimaev’s path is unequivocally one the year’s biggest stories.
On Jan. 21, will that story get even more chaotic? Or, will it become one of overcoming adversity? Chimaev has his hands full, and I think he loves that people believe that.
