Khamzat Chimaev Gets Support from Zlatan Ibrahimovic Ahead of UFC 273
Football superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has shown his support for Khamzat Chimaev ahead of his bout with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
Taking to Instagram to post his message, the AC Milan forward shared a photo of Khamzat Chimaev at weigh-ins along with a photo of a wolf to reinforce the ‘Borz’ persona Chimaev carries. It’s a photo with powerful words stating:
“The tiger and the lion may be more powerful, but the wolf doesn’t perform in the circus.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is widely considered to be one of the greatest strikers of all time. He is also one of the most decorated active footballers in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career. His brand of arrogant self-belief in football reflects in his show of support for his fellow Swede fighter.
Khamzat Chimaev will finally square off against Gilbert Burns
UFC 273 has a promising card stacked with exciting fights including two title bouts but the one that stands out the most is the main card fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns. Bookies seem to agree with Ibrahimovic as they chose ‘Borz’ to be the huge favorite in the fight (-490).
In what’s being called the people’s main event, the undefeated hype of the Chechen-born Swede fighter faces its toughest test yet in former title challenger and number two ranked contender at welterweight. Their bout is sandwiched in the middle of the main card with two fights before them and two title bouts right after.
With current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman set to remain on the sidelines to heal his hand, UFC president Dana White expressed his desire to see Chimaev fight Colby Covington if he should be victorious against Burns.
Vinc Pichel and Mark Madsen will kick things off on the main card in a lightweight bout before Mackenzie Dern steps in to face Tecia Torres in a women’s strawweight bout.
The main card will feature Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns finally colliding in the third fight before proceeding to the co-main event that is for the undisputed bantamweight title between champion Aljamain Sterling and interim champion Petr Yan.
In the headlining fight of the night, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his UFC featherweight strap against ‘The Korean Zombie,’ Chan Sung Jung, in what’s expected to be a firecracker of a fight tonight.
