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Let me remind you what we lost as fans. And somehow most didn't see it based on corporate manipulation pandering to the worst of fairweather fan emotions.
1. Khamzat becomes #1 contender at WW in early 2022
Undefeated Khamzat beats top 3 ranked Burns in a FOTY contender with the most buzz of any contender in ages. Easiest "ok next is a title shot" fight matchmaking in human history. This fight, prior to happening, was promised by Dana for the winner to get a title shot.
2. UFC derails Khamzat to cover their PR disaster / fans buy it
Instead, completely defying all logic, they used him as a punishment for Nate saying he wanted free agency. When fans and media turned against the UFC for this match (reminder for those who forgot: it was unanimous and a unfolding PR disaster for the UFC) suddenly it was called off. But they couldn't admit it was pre-planned. Instead someone who called themselves a "UFC doctor" ordered Khamzat to rehydrate, which he did, then they weighed him. He was 178. Reminder for those who don't know how weight cutting works... literally no one on the roster below HW is not nearly exactly 8 pounds over after rehydrating. Instead fans bought it and ignored the MOUNTAIN of evidence to the contrary that it was scripted: UFC never denied what Khamzat's team said about a "UFC doctor" ordering him to rehydrate + if it wasn't scripted they wouldn't have LW Tony slated for WW + Holland slated for 180 (the exact post-hydration Khamzat weight) months before the weight miss + the guy with the least marketing power (Li) taking the lone weight hit as a WW fighting a 180 pound guy (Hernandez), etc. Then the most scripted fight promotion probably in UFC history... the "biggest brawl in UFC history" per Dana between Kevin and Khamzat. A "brawl" that several UFC cameras caught the first 10 seconds of in the form of people yelling at one another... then the cameras magically turned off. All cell phones magically turned off. Not a single pic or second of video footage. And according to Dana, this brawl, the most violent in all of UFC history, which involved more than 20 pro fighters and entire teams... somehow didn't result in a single fight cancellation, single injury, single scratch on anyone's face... nothing. And fans bought it. For years after that it was attacks on Khamzat for "missing weight" instead.
3. Pure political virtue signaling, nothing more, shelves the most promising athlete for 2.5 years of his prime
The Russia-Ukraine war happens. The Biden State Department, completely under the guise of cheap virtue signaling, bans Khamzat from competing in the US. Solely because his ethnicity is the same as a politician they don't like, and his birth country is the same as another politician they don't like. As a result, he can't compete in the US or any country which follows the lead of the US (ie: that means all of Western Europe, Australia, Japan, etc) meaning he was effectively banned from competing anywhere besides Abu Dhabi. There was never any rationale provided for this. But instead we saw 2.5 years of fans saying "terrorist" or saying "but Kadyrov isn't nice" as if that had anything to do with Khamzat who was guilty only of being the same ethnicity. In the middle of this, Khamzat wins the SECOND fight he was promised a title shot (this time at MW vs Usman) and AGAIN doesn't get a title shot, again only explained by politics. Instead, Sean Strickland somehow gets 3 title shots in his next 4 fights. Worst of all, somehow... in a rejection of all logic... fans blame Khamzat for him not being allowed to compete in the West. "He only fights in Abu Dhabi" and "he's inactive" as if the most promising contender in the entire sport WANTED to sit on a couch. At least when Muhammad Ali's prime was stolen based on political horseshit (him not wanting to fight in Vietnam) fans were aware enough to understand "ok we are missing something special because of politics here." But instead Khamzat, without a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing, was banned from competing... based on nothing more than his ethnicity and the crime that he dared to have a photo taken with his President. Now the story has come out that what everyone thought back then was true / that this ban was not reversed until Trump came in. Within a few months he fights for the MW title in the US and wins in utterly dominant fashion.
4. Reminder of what we actually missed out on from summer of 2022 to summer of 2025.
If none of this shit happened, Khamzat would have fought for the WW title in the summer of 2022. He likely would have beaten Kamaru (#1 P4P fighter at the time) and dethroned him prior to Kamaru's streak being broken by Leon. Then he likely would have called out Izzy (#4 P4P fighter at the time) moved up to MW and likely beaten him prior to his streak being broken by Alex. He would have dethroned two P4P dominant champs in a row while attaining double champ status. Then if Izzy was dethroned Alex would have likely moved up to LHW to become a star in another weight class, and who knows if we could have seen Khamzat vs Alex for the belt at LHW prior to Alex getting dethroned by Ankalaev. Potential triple champ status.
TLDR: Regardless of what would have happened... just know this... we were robbed. Three years of the most excited matchmaking in this sport's history went up in smoke, solely due to politics. And most fans bought it hook, line, and sinker complete with echoing the virtue signaling and parroting the UFC corporate line about 279 totally not being scripted and Khamzat totally being at fault for listening to the orders of the "UFC doctor." Wake up. Khamzat at age 28-30 forced into limbo highlights that we had an Muhammad Ali situation happening in MMA: an elite athlete in his absolute prime sitting on the sidelines solely due to political bullshit and we lost something SPECIAL.
1. Khamzat becomes #1 contender at WW in early 2022
Undefeated Khamzat beats top 3 ranked Burns in a FOTY contender with the most buzz of any contender in ages. Easiest "ok next is a title shot" fight matchmaking in human history. This fight, prior to happening, was promised by Dana for the winner to get a title shot.
2. UFC derails Khamzat to cover their PR disaster / fans buy it
Instead, completely defying all logic, they used him as a punishment for Nate saying he wanted free agency. When fans and media turned against the UFC for this match (reminder for those who forgot: it was unanimous and a unfolding PR disaster for the UFC) suddenly it was called off. But they couldn't admit it was pre-planned. Instead someone who called themselves a "UFC doctor" ordered Khamzat to rehydrate, which he did, then they weighed him. He was 178. Reminder for those who don't know how weight cutting works... literally no one on the roster below HW is not nearly exactly 8 pounds over after rehydrating. Instead fans bought it and ignored the MOUNTAIN of evidence to the contrary that it was scripted: UFC never denied what Khamzat's team said about a "UFC doctor" ordering him to rehydrate + if it wasn't scripted they wouldn't have LW Tony slated for WW + Holland slated for 180 (the exact post-hydration Khamzat weight) months before the weight miss + the guy with the least marketing power (Li) taking the lone weight hit as a WW fighting a 180 pound guy (Hernandez), etc. Then the most scripted fight promotion probably in UFC history... the "biggest brawl in UFC history" per Dana between Kevin and Khamzat. A "brawl" that several UFC cameras caught the first 10 seconds of in the form of people yelling at one another... then the cameras magically turned off. All cell phones magically turned off. Not a single pic or second of video footage. And according to Dana, this brawl, the most violent in all of UFC history, which involved more than 20 pro fighters and entire teams... somehow didn't result in a single fight cancellation, single injury, single scratch on anyone's face... nothing. And fans bought it. For years after that it was attacks on Khamzat for "missing weight" instead.
3. Pure political virtue signaling, nothing more, shelves the most promising athlete for 2.5 years of his prime
The Russia-Ukraine war happens. The Biden State Department, completely under the guise of cheap virtue signaling, bans Khamzat from competing in the US. Solely because his ethnicity is the same as a politician they don't like, and his birth country is the same as another politician they don't like. As a result, he can't compete in the US or any country which follows the lead of the US (ie: that means all of Western Europe, Australia, Japan, etc) meaning he was effectively banned from competing anywhere besides Abu Dhabi. There was never any rationale provided for this. But instead we saw 2.5 years of fans saying "terrorist" or saying "but Kadyrov isn't nice" as if that had anything to do with Khamzat who was guilty only of being the same ethnicity. In the middle of this, Khamzat wins the SECOND fight he was promised a title shot (this time at MW vs Usman) and AGAIN doesn't get a title shot, again only explained by politics. Instead, Sean Strickland somehow gets 3 title shots in his next 4 fights. Worst of all, somehow... in a rejection of all logic... fans blame Khamzat for him not being allowed to compete in the West. "He only fights in Abu Dhabi" and "he's inactive" as if the most promising contender in the entire sport WANTED to sit on a couch. At least when Muhammad Ali's prime was stolen based on political horseshit (him not wanting to fight in Vietnam) fans were aware enough to understand "ok we are missing something special because of politics here." But instead Khamzat, without a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing, was banned from competing... based on nothing more than his ethnicity and the crime that he dared to have a photo taken with his President. Now the story has come out that what everyone thought back then was true / that this ban was not reversed until Trump came in. Within a few months he fights for the MW title in the US and wins in utterly dominant fashion.
4. Reminder of what we actually missed out on from summer of 2022 to summer of 2025.
If none of this shit happened, Khamzat would have fought for the WW title in the summer of 2022. He likely would have beaten Kamaru (#1 P4P fighter at the time) and dethroned him prior to Kamaru's streak being broken by Leon. Then he likely would have called out Izzy (#4 P4P fighter at the time) moved up to MW and likely beaten him prior to his streak being broken by Alex. He would have dethroned two P4P dominant champs in a row while attaining double champ status. Then if Izzy was dethroned Alex would have likely moved up to LHW to become a star in another weight class, and who knows if we could have seen Khamzat vs Alex for the belt at LHW prior to Alex getting dethroned by Ankalaev. Potential triple champ status.
TLDR: Regardless of what would have happened... just know this... we were robbed. Three years of the most excited matchmaking in this sport's history went up in smoke, solely due to politics. And most fans bought it hook, line, and sinker complete with echoing the virtue signaling and parroting the UFC corporate line about 279 totally not being scripted and Khamzat totally being at fault for listening to the orders of the "UFC doctor." Wake up. Khamzat at age 28-30 forced into limbo highlights that we had an Muhammad Ali situation happening in MMA: an elite athlete in his absolute prime sitting on the sidelines solely due to political bullshit and we lost something SPECIAL.
