Gerald Meerschaert has revealed that Khamzat Chimaev blocked his face without cameras ahead of a 2020 UFC fight simply because of his “love of the game.”
Chimaev was just two fights into his UFC career at the time, and the hype train was moving at full speed. During the pre-match press conference, Chimaev kept interrupting Millschat’s answers to questions, which he admitted was annoying. However, a backstage interaction that Melschat has yet to disclose allowed him to see Chimaev’s true character.
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“Look, I have nothing against Kamzat. We fought; it’s over. He did a great job. That guy is the man. All respect,” Millschat told the Recreational MMA Alliance. “But I do remember we saw each other in the lobby – it was during COVID. We saw him in the hallway and it was me and Brendan Allen and then him and his coach. He came up to me and kind of got in my face and we started talking shit back and forth. It was like the stupidest Bullshit, like, when the two met, we were trying to say, ‘Oh, really? Really? You want that? ‘ Like, both of us – I don’t know what the hell he was saying, but we both were like – he got aggressive and I was like, ‘Who is this for?'”
Millschart believes Chimaev may have been angered by a meme he posted before the fight, but couldn’t say for sure if that was the case. To his surprise, Chimaev confronted him in the corridor, with no one present except his teammates and Chimaev’s coach, who was extremely friendly towards him, adding another layer to the puzzling altercation.
“We were in front of each other, and there was almost no one around,” Millschart said. “In the back of my mind, I’m like, ‘There’s no one else here.’ So, he’s just doing it for the love of the game, which is crazy respect. He’s just doing his thing, no matter who’s there or not, and that’s better than, ‘Oh, I need a camera.’ But he does it, and he walks away and his coach goes, ‘Oh, it’s great to see you. It’s great to see you.’ All the most polite people are like, ‘Yeah, we know he’s crazy.’ “But I’m just confused, they’re so nice. Why would he be like that? We’re going to fight, and some guys are different, like they have to get to that place before and after, but we’re going to beat each other up. Well, actually, in this case, you’re going to hit me. I wanted to hit him, but I didn’t succeed.”
Millschart and Chimaev only lasted 17 seconds in the Octagon. He was knocked down by a cross from the right. Chimaev has won every fight since then and most recently captured the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319.
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As Millschat’s story goes, Chimaev has been aggressive backstage on multiple occasions over the years, such as when he shoved Ian Machado-Gary in Qatar or when the UFC 279 press conference was canceled due to what UFC CEO Dana White called a “big shit show” backstage involving Chimaev and other fighters.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Khamzat Chimaev’s past UFC opponents reveal heated backstage brawls
