Chimaev Challenges Danis To A Street Fight

Khamzat Chimaev and Dillon Danis had to be pulled apart at the RAF 10 pre-event faceoff in St. Louis — and Chimaev made clear he was not interested in waiting until the weekend to settle it.

The Chechen-Swedish fighter challenged Danis to take things to the street during the confrontation, an offer that required intervention from those present to ensure it stayed theoretical. The two are scheduled to headline Real American Freestyle this weekend, and the faceoff confirmed that whatever tension exists between them extends beyond promotional theatrics.

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Chimaev arrives at this fight carrying the weight of a recent defeat that still appears to be sitting heavily on him. He lost the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 last month in a split decision that ended his first title defence and reset the trajectory of what had looked like one of the sport's most unstoppable careers.

In the aftermath, Chimaev called for an immediate rematch and floated a move to heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight before appearing to shelve that idea. Whether the UFC grants him a quick return to Strickland remains unresolved, which may explain in part why he is competing outside the promotion this weekend.

The RAF platform gives Chimaev an outlet while his UFC future takes shape. It also gives him a high-profile opponent in Danis, whose name recognition has always outpaced his professional record. Danis is 0-1 in RAF following his loss to Colby Covington in March, a defeat that did little to quiet the questions that have followed him throughout a combat sports career spent as much in controversy as in competition. The faceoff had to be broken up. The fight is still a few days away. Chimaev does not appear to have cooled down in the interim.