With a deep scar on his upper lip, a dark, bushy beard and only stubble on his head, Khamzat Chimaev has shown no fear while preparing to face UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
This does not mean Chimaev is fearless. That became clear this week when the Russian-born MMA fighter explained why he is building a gym for kids near his home in the Chechen Republic.
“It’s scaring me,’’ Chimaev said. “MMA’s a scary sport…I don’t think MMA can be good for the kids because we’re punching in the face. We (break) each other.’’
For the record, Chimaev got the scar on his lip not from MMA but from falling down on concrete stairs at the age of two. Now 31, he’s inflicting the damage on men in the Octagon.
He enters the title fight against du Plessis at 14-0, including 8-0 in the UFC, with 6 KOs and six victories by submissions. Some of his victories have been bloody and brutal.
But Chimaev does not want his success to have an unintended effect on the children, especially those using his gym in the Chechen Republic.
“This is an amazing sport but not for the kids,’’ he said. “So I think it should be at least 15 years to train some different sports. Boxing or judo or wrestling, grappling. There are a lot of different sports for the young boys.
“So that’s why,’’ he added of not building a cage in his gym.
By contrast, Chimaev expressed no fear about his opponent, especially when asked about Du Plessis’ infamous trash talk.
“Whatever he says, I don’t care about,” Chimaev said. ‘So I come here to beat him up, take my money and go home.”