Khamzat Chimaev's first amateur MMA bout featured in 2017 throwback footage

Archival footage of Khamzat Chimaev's very first amateur MMA contest has emerged online, offering a rare glimpse at the early competitive days of one of the sport's most dominant fighters. The clip, posted by the YouTube channel Team Eagle - Dagestan Clan, shows Chimaev competing in Sweden in September 2017 under the Fight Club Rush banner, a promotion that remains active today and airs on Fight Pass. In that debut, a teenage version of the fighter who would become a UFC star finished his opponent via submission in the second round.

Chimaev went on to compile a three-fight amateur record before making his professional debut the following year, beginning a rise that has since carried him to the top of two divisions.

Today, the 32-year-old stands as the number-one ranked middleweight in the UFC and sits tenth on the pound-for-pound rankings, carrying a professional record of 15-1-0. Fighting out of Allstars Training Center and representing the United Arab Emirates, the orthodox striker nicknamed "Borz" has built his reputation on suffocating physicality. He stands six-foot-two with a 75-inch reach and brings elite tools across every phase of the game, landing 4.04 significant strikes per minute at a striking accuracy of 60 percent while also averaging 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes. His submission threat remains constant at 1.8 attempts per 15 minutes, a number the 2017 footage helps put in longer historical context.

Why it matters

• The clip documents the origins of a fighter now ranked among the top ten pound-for-pound competitors in the world
• It highlights Fight Club Rush as an early platform for elite-level talent, with its continued presence on Fight Pass giving the footage added visibility
• The submission finish in round two foreshadows the grappling versatility Chimaev has carried into his professional career