Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t scheduled to fight at UFC 280, but here we are.
The Altercation
Following Islam Makhachev’s title win over Charles Oliveira, the UFC Welterweight contender would have a fight of his own as Chimaev crossed paths with team Makhachev cageside.
At first it was peaceful as Chimaev shook hands with Abubakar Nurmagomedov who won his fight earlier that night. However, that would quickly change as Chimaev quickly pushed Abubakar. It wouldn’t take long for a swarm of security to separate the conflicting UFC fighters. A glimpse of the altercation was captured by The Mac Life below.
Khamzat Chimaev got into an physical altercation cageside immediately following Islam Makhachev's win at UFC 280. pic.twitter.com/5SHaCFIIgF
— The Mac Life (@TheMacLife) October 22, 2022
Chimaev would shout at Abubakar as he was pushed and held back by multiple security guards. The heated cageside altercation even caught the eye of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who scaled a bit of the UFC cage to where Chimaev was at.
‘The Eagle’ looked through the chain links as security successfully separated Chimaev and his cousin Abubakar.
Why Did It Happen?
It looks like there is a history between Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev.
Abubakar was not happy after Chimaev’s derogatory towards Khabib in 2021. In a deleted Instagram post, Nurmagomedov would tell Chimaev to ‘be careful with your statements’.
Abubaker Nurmagomedov sends a message to khamzat chimaev after his comments about khabib
— 🔻Pablo_Escobar 🇵🇸 (@JM97_79) May 14, 2021
(translated from Russian) pic.twitter.com/1NV2BQm8oV
Fast forward a year and the rivalry is very still alive as the two went at each other at UFC 280.
