Khamzat Chimaev claims he makes more money outside of the UFC than he does as middleweight champion.
Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) burst onto the UFC scene in 2020 by competing twice in the span of 10 days. However, his activity would take a major dip moving forward, having fought just once in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Advertisement
Chimaev explains why he doesn’t have a major urge to make quick turnarounds.
“I don’t care,” Chimaev told Beyond The Win on criticism of being inactive. “These guys do. I’m making millions. These people are just talking and doing nothing. If you do your work, I don’t need to go and watch your work, how you do, how often you work out, how much you get. I care about myself, how much I make, how much I fight.”
More: UFC schedule 2026: Every Q2 main event and title fight, ranked
After dominating Dricus Du Plessis to claim the middleweight belt at UFC 319, Chimaev makes his first title defense against Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) in the main event of UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark, N.J. Chimaev has come a long way from his days living at the All Stars Gym facility in Sweden.
Advertisement
“I was living in a gym, and now I’m living the dream,” Chimaev said. “I make more money outside of the UFC because of who I’ve become. Wherever I go, people want to sponsor, they want to do different things with me, business and things like that.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC champ Khamzat Chimaev shrugs off inactivity criticism with ease
