Add another UFC legend to Khamzat Chimaev’s resume.
Since bursting onto the UFC stage in 2020, earning Breakout Fighter of the Year honors for his three wins in just two months, Chimaev has been viewed as the Next Big Thing in MMA. However, since his breakout, Chimaev’s struggled to compete consistently due to medical issues, most recently getting forced out of a planned bout with Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia. But whenever he does compete, boy is it impressive. Case in point, a recent grappling match he had with former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
Rockhold is currently serving as a coach on Hardcore Fighting Championship’s reality show, akin to The Ultimate Fighter. On the most recent episode, Chimaev came in as a guest coach, and the two squared off in a brief grappling match. It didn’t go well for Rockhold.
Back in 2021, Rockhold and Chimaev were briefly linked to a possible matchup, however at that time, Chimaev declined as he wanted to remain at welterweight. Three years later, Chimaev is now on the cusp of middleweight title contention and dominated Rockhold, controlling their grappling session before locking up an arm that forced Rockhold to concede.
Rockhold has not competed in MMA since 2022, though he has bounced around to other promotions in the combat sports world, including a bare-knuckle fight against Mike Perry in 2023, a matchup with Joe Schilling in Karate Combat earlier this year, and most recently, an appearance in the Craig Jones Invitational. This grappling session with Chimaev was filmed sometime before that though as the Hardcore FC fight show was filmed in April and May of this year.
Meanwhile, Chimaev has not competed since a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, but his fight against Robert Whittaker is now scheduled for UFC 308, which takes place on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
