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Khamzat Chimaev will now represent the UAE and not Sweden, and a former UFC fighter has applauded him for the decision.
'Borz' began his MMA career in Sweden and fought out of the country for all his fights in the UFC up to now. However, after disagreeing with some of their laws and higher taxes, he has now switched his allegiance to the United Arab Emirates. He has received UAE citizenship and will now represent them going forward. Here's what former welterweight champion Jake Shields had to say about the decision:
"I'm no fan of Khamzat but this is a smart move. Now he will pay zero taxes and have freedom of speech."
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Take a look at the tweet:
Khamzat Chimaev has been training a lot in Dubai ahead of his next fight and seems to have set up base there. The welterweight fighter has not fought in over a year, with his last fight coming against Kevin Holland at UFC 279. He is now set to fight Paulo Costa at UFC 294 on October 21. The fight will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, which is Chimaev's home turf currently.
Fans have been begging to see 'Borz' back in action, and he will face probably his toughest test yet in Paulo Costa.
Khamzat Chimaev addresses Paulo Costa for the first time
Khamzat Chimaev sent a chilling message to Paul Costa ahead of their fight. Both Chimaev and Costa are two of the best fighters in the division and both have not fought in a long time. The pair finally agreed to figth each other at UFC 294, and MMA fans are abuzz. Ahead of their fight, 'Borz' had a message for his Brazilian opponent:
"Paulo, Paulovich, you dead man. Just be sure, come up to the cage, beat you up, send you back in the package to Brazil. But still in Brazil they don't want you. No countries recognize you. Now you're coming to my country, Muslims brother, they're coming for you, Allah hu Akbar."
Take a look at the video:
The unbeaten middleweight is confident that he will beat Paulo Costa at UFC 294. He believes he will put on a dominant display against the Brazilian. Costa has not fought in over a year, as his fights kept getting cancelled. Hopefully, he will return to action on October 21 without any hiccups.
