Khamzat Chimaev is apparently about that life whether there’s people around to watch or not.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion earned quite a reputation for his willingness to fight anyone, anywhere at any time after he won his octagon debut and then fought two more times inside the next two months. Not only that but he scored victories at both welterweight and middleweight, which included a jaw-dropping one-punch knockout over Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds when they clashed back in 2020.
While obviously not the result he wanted, Meerschaert gave Chimaev credit for a job well done but admits there was a bizarre backstage confrontation before the fight that definitely had him confused.
“There was too much of a language barrier. He mumbled a lot at the time,” Meerschaert told The Casuals MMA podcast. “If he would have interrupted me and was talking crazy shit, that would have been better. But it was just kind of annoying. Look, I got nothing against Khamzat, we fought, it’s over, he’s done great, that dude’s the man, all respect.
“But I do remember we met — this was during COVID — and we see him in the hallway. It was me and Brendan Allen and then him and his coaches. He walks up to me and kind of gets in my face and we start talking shit back and forth. It was like the dumbest shit talk when two guys see each other. I don’t know exactly what he’s saying, I probably said some dumb shit. He got aggressive and it’s like who’s this for?”
While fight week confrontations aren’t exactly a new thing to the UFC, usually there are cameras around to catch the action, which only helps to build the hype and anticipation for a fight.
But Meerschaert says Chimaev getting in his face wasn’t about social media views or trying to bolster his reputation as some sort of tough guy in and out of the cage.
Instead, the veteran UFC middleweight says Chimaev was just standing on business — with nobody else really around to witness what unfolded.
“We got in each other’s faces and there’s no one around,” Meerschaert said. “In the back of my head I’m like there’s nobody else here so he’s just doing it for the love of the game. He’s doing his thing no matter who’s there or not, which is better than ‘I need cameras.’
“But he does this, he walks away and his coaches [are saying] ‘oh nice to meet you.’ All the most polite [people]. I was just confused. They are so nice, why is he like this?”
In Meerschaert’s mind, he didn’t see the need for some kind of heated face-to-face altercation but he also understands that just what certain fighters need to get amped up for the battle ahead.
Regrettably, Meerschaert didn’t get the chance to really settle things in the cage after Chimaev delivered the brutal knockout blow just seconds into the fight.
“We’re going to fight. Some guys are different, they’ve got to get in that place before and after,” Meerschaert said. “I’m like we’re going to punch each other — well you are going to punch me in this case. I wanted to punch him but it didn’t work out that way.”
Despite the fight and that weird backstage confrontation, Meerschaert still had nothing but praise to offer Chimaev on the career he’s built since that encounter.
He remains undefeated in his career with a perfect 15-0 record including a lopsided decision win over Dricus du Plessis to become UFC middleweight champion this past August.
“Nothing against the guy,” Meerschaert said about Chimeave. “He’s done great. Good for him but it was an interesting fight week.”
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