Video has emerged of Khamzat Chimaev's first amateur MMA bout, which took place in Sweden in September 2017. Chimaev finished the fight with a submission in the second round against opponent Khaled Laalam. He went on to win three total amateur fights before transitioning to professional MMA the following year. The fight occurred under the Fight Club Rush organization, which continues to operate and is broadcast on Fight Pass. Laalam, Chimaev's opponent in that debut, currently holds a 7-1 professional record and competes in UAE Warriors.
Footage has surfaced of Khamzat Chimaev's very first amateur mixed martial arts contest, a submission victory recorded in Sweden in September 2017 under the Fight Club Rush banner, an organization that continues to operate and airs bouts on UFC Fight Pass.
Chimaev, now ranked first in the UFC's middleweight division and tenth pound-for-pound, needed just two rounds to finish opponent Khaled Laalam via submission in that debut appearance. He would go on to complete three amateur bouts in total before making the move to professional competition the following year. The 32-year-old, who represents the United Arab Emirates and trains out of Allstars Training Center in Sweden, carries a professional record of 15-1-0. His numbers inside the octagon reflect the same predatory grappling on display in that early footage — he averages 5.29 takedowns per fifteen minutes and lands strikes at a 60 percent accuracy rate, posting 4.04 significant strikes per minute.
Laalam, the man on the other side of Chimaev's very first amateur outing, has since built a credible professional career of his own. He currently holds a 7-1 professional record and competes under the UAE Warriors promotion.
Why it matters
- The footage offers a rare look at Chimaev before his rapid rise through regional and then UFC competition, showing the submission instincts that remain central to his game.
- Laalam's 7-1 professional record adds retrospective context, suggesting Chimaev's debut opponent was not a pushover.
- Fight Club Rush's continued operation and Fight Pass broadcast deal means the clip carries verified provenance rather than circulating as unattributed archival footage.
