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Michael Bisping has suggested that Khamzat Chimaev might be a bit distracted heading into his highly-anticipated fight against Nate Diaz. The undefeated Chimaev will face MMA legend Diaz in a five-round welterweight matchup that'll headline UFC 279 on September 10th.
Taking to his YouTube channel, Bisping previewed the UFC 279 showdown and hailed Chimaev for taking the UFC by storm right from his promotional debut in 2020. He lauded the wrestling wizard for either knocking out or submitting all his UFC opponents, except welterweight elite Gilbert Burns, whom 'Borz' beat via unanimous decision.
Bisping harked back to Chimaev's terrifyingly dominant first-round submission win over Li Jingliang last October. He highlighted that the Chechnya-born Swedish fighter picked up Jingliang, had a mid-fight conversation with UFC president Dana White, slammed 'The Leech' to the mat, and then choked him unconscious.
Furthermore, Bisping also referenced Khamzat Chimaev's recent verbal altercation with UFC middleweight Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute (PI). 'The Count' opined that this is the kind of arrogance that White likes to see in his fighters.
The UFC Hall of Famer acknowledged that Chimaev is a huge favorite to beat Diaz. Pointing out Chimaev's run-in with Costa, Michael Bisping indicated that Chimaev is probably a tad distracted ahead of his UFC 279 fight. Bisping stated:
"That's just like the cockiness and the ability of this man. I mean, it really is something to behold. It is incredible. Though, is he a little bit distracted? We don't know because we see him getting into fights with Paulo Costa at the [UFC] Performance Institute. He's calling out everyone. And Dana [White] loves that. Dana loves talented fighters who are cocky, who are arrogant, that want to fight everybody."
Watch Bisping discuss the topic at 1:20 in the video below:
Paulo Costa claims Khamzat Chimaev won't fight him at middleweight
Paulo Costa recently took multiple jabs at Khamzat Chimaev, labeling him a "fake gangster" and "Gourmet Chechen." Not one to be outdone, 'Borz' confronted Costa and almost came to blows with him at the UFC PI. In an interview with Full Send MMA after their altercation at the PI, Costa insinuated that Chimaev would likely avoid fighting him.
The Brazilian fighter believes that Khamzat Chimaev is used to bullying smaller fighters. He added that 'Borz' won't move up to middleweight to face him. Sounding off on the welterweight contender, Costa said:
"Man I don't think he wants that beef you know. He knows he is used to bullying shorter guys, small guys. When he saw me, I don't think he expected that, like, 'Okay let's go right now! Let's fight right now!' So he froze."
Watch Costa's interview below:
