Despite a year away from the cage, Khamzat Chimaev picked up right where he left off.
In 2020, Chimaev (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) took the UFC by storm, racking up three straight victories in under a month. He was sidelined by COVID-19, but returned to action on Saturday and looked like he never lost a step as he made quick work of perhaps his toughest UFC opponent yet, Li Jingliang.
The welterweight bout was part of the UFC 267 main card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It streamed on ESPN+.
In typical Chimaev fashion, he wasted little time getting down to business after the referee signaled for the action to begin. He darted across the cage and shot for a takedown, but ended up lifting Jingliang (18-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and carrying him towards UFC president Dana White, who was sitting cageside.
Takedown off the rip for @KChimaev!
[ #UFC267 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/IGkdGAQXQf
— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
During that moment, Chimaev said a few words to White, before completing the takedown and raining down punches on Jingliang, who did his best to stop the damage. A few moments later, Chimaev would flatten him out as he unleashed a series of unanswered strikes from back mount.
Jingliang was able to move just enough to avoid the stoppage there, but Chimaev decided to slap on a rear-naked choke. Jingliang was able to escape the first couple of attempts, but Chimaev simply re-adjusted and finally locked in a choke that would put Jingliang out.
For the third straight fight, Chimaev’s opponent failed to land a single strike.
THE HYPE IS REAL!!!!!!!!@KChimaev is a baaaaaaad man 😤
[ #UFC267 | Tune in LIVE on @ESPNPlus | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/ekUHQjeg4b
— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2021
Chimaev now has double-digit victories in his young professional MMA career, all by way of early stoppage. After his incredible debut year where he racked up three victories in less than two months, Chimaev continues his dominance as he makes good on his promise to take out everyone in the division.
Jingliang has now traded wins and losses over his last four bouts, entering Saturday’s bout coming off a first-round finish over Santiago Ponzinibbio, which followed a unanimous decision loss to Neil Magny. Chimaev was a significant favorite at the betting window, and despite his best efforts to prove the oddsmakers wrong to pull off the huge upset, Jingliang could not secure the victory.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 267 results include:
- Khamzat Chimaev def. Li Jingliang via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:16
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Volkan Oezdemir via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Amanda Ribas def. Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ricardo Ramos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Albert Duraev def. Roman Kopylov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Benoit Saint-Denis via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Shamil Gamzatov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:31
- Lerone Murphy def. Makwan Amirkhani via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 0:14
- Andre Petroski def. Hu Yaozong via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 4:46
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Allan Nascimento via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
.jpg?w=600)
