Khamzat Chimaev has heaped praise on United States President Donald Trump for allowing his return to the country, but believes he wouldn’t be welcome on the highly anticipated UFC White House card.
Approaching the biggest fight of his career, the 31-year-old could be the UFC middleweight champion by the time the White House event rolls around in 2026. Despite his large following from supporters across the world, including a strong fan presence in America, ‘Borz’ was denied his visa to enter the US.
Khamzat Chimaev had issues with his visa due to his alleged ties to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Chimaev publicly supported Kadyrov and trained with his family, but his dismissal of politics and the subsequent help from Donald Trump ensured his return to the country.
Chimaev credited Trump for allowing him to once again step into the octagon on US soil.
“This wasn’t my bad. This wasn’t my fault,” Chimaev said regarding his absense from the United States. “Everyone knows I didn’t have the visa to the US. That’s why I didn’t fight only once in Abu Dhabi. So now Donald Trump is here, we go for a fight.”
Countless huge names have shown an interest in competing on the UFC White House card, set to commence sometime next year.
Related: UFC CEO Dana White says White House event will be ‘the best card we’ve ever done’
However, even with his visa approval, Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t believe he’d be welcome to fight at the event.
“Look at my face. I don’t think [I’d be welcome on that card]. They [would deport me] to an immigrant camp or whatever.”
“I’m an athlete, a sportsman, all my life I’ve been training. Some people put me in a position like political sh*t and break my visa down, and I don’t know why. I’m just doing for my family — fighting, training. Athletes don’t have to be with politics. I’m not connected.”
“If somebody wants to meet me, I never say no. Why should they do that? It’s putting a lot of athletes in a bad position with this. This is a sport that [brings] all the guys together, all countries together, but they want to do some different ways. I don’t know why. I would be happy if they give me a fight there but I don’t think so.”
