5. Khamzat Chimaev makes history
A lot of people dismiss historic achievements in the UFC. Trust me, as the “stats guy,” I’ve see much of it over the years. However, I can confidently say no one is taking this one away from [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag].
Let’s break down the specifics of this modern-era record turnaround win after beating Tom Phillips and Rhys McKee in the span of 10 days. Not only did he make the turn in record time, he did it in two weight classes, earned finishes in both fights by way of a knockout and a submission, and received “Performance of the Night” honors for both efforts. I don’t see how that could possibly be topped.
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The unique nature of the “Fight Island” schedule gave Chimaev the chance to do this. We don’t know how often in the future UFC will do a Wednesday-Saturday-Saturday string of events, but it hasn’t happened a ton in recent years. The only way it gets beat is if someone fights twice in seven days, which, just given the optics of medical suspensions and other factors, is improbable.
So, Chimaev. Take a bow. You did something unique that’s going to stand in the record books for a long time, and possibly forever. Now you have the perfect start to a UFC career that could really be something special.
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