Footage has emerged of Khamzat Chimaev's first amateur MMA bout, which took place in Sweden in September 2017. Chimaev finished the fight with a rear-naked choke in the second round. He competed in three amateur fights total before transitioning to professional MMA the following year. The bout took place under the Fight Club Rush organization, which continues to operate and is streamed on UFC Fight Pass. Chimaev's opponent was Khaled Laalam, who now holds a 7-1 professional record and competes in UAE Warriors. The video was shared by the Team Eagle - Dagestan Clan YouTube channel.
Footage has surfaced of Khamzat Chimaev competing in his very first amateur MMA bout, a September 2017 contest held in Sweden under the Fight Club Rush banner that ended with Chimaev submitting his opponent via rear-naked choke in the second round.
The video, shared by the Team Eagle - Dagestan Clan YouTube channel, offers a rare early glimpse of the fighter long before he became one of the most feared names in mixed martial arts. Chimaev went on to compete in three amateur fights in total before making his professional debut the following year. Fight Club Rush, the organization that hosted the bout, continues to operate and is available to stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Chimaev, now 32 and representing the United Arab Emirates, trains out of Allstars Training Center and currently sits ranked first in the middleweight division with a professional record of 15-1-0, placing him tenth in the pound-for-pound standings. Standing six-foot-two with a 75-inch reach, he has built a reputation as a relentless finisher, averaging 4.04 significant strikes landed per minute at a striking accuracy of 60 percent, while also threatening with 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and 1.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
His opponent in that early amateur clip, Khaled Laalam, has since developed into a professional fighter in his own right, compiling a 7-1 record while competing in the UAE Warriors organization.
Why it matters
- The footage provides historical context for one of the welterweight and middleweight division's most dominant modern competitors
- Chimaev's rear-naked choke finish foreshadowed the submission threat he continues to carry into his professional career
- Laalam's subsequent 7-1 professional record adds credibility to the archive, showing the opponent was no journeyman in the making
