Video – UFC star Khamzat Chimaev meets with football icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic, gifts him signed jersey

Continuing his wave of support for undefeated welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev, professional footballing star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic visited the Chechen-born fighter earlier this week during his training camp – gifting him a signed shirt from his return to Italian giants, AC Milan.

Chimaev, the current number four ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined from active competition since he co-headlined UFC 279 back in September of last year, successfully improving to 12-0 as a professional with a first round D’Arce choke submission win over division striker, Kevin Holland in a catchweight clash.

Yet to book his return to the Octagon, Chimaev, who has been linked with a middleweight division climb, has most recently found himself linked to a potential fight against recent UFC Vegas 75 winner, Jared Cannonier.

Linked with a comeback before the turn of the year as UFC president Dana White revealed recently how the AllStars MMA staple had been dealing with some personal issues, Khamzat Chimaev has been earmarked to feature at UFC 294 in October, with that pay-per-view event slated to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Khamzat Chimaev meets with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

And continuing training ahead of his expected return to combat sports before the end of 2023, Khamzat Chimaev met in the gym with Swedish international, Ibrahimovic, who recently called time on his illustrious professional football career, ending his tenure following a second spell with the aforenoted, AC Milan – whom he helped clinch a Serie A title two seasons prior. 

Previously voicing his support of Chimaev, Ibrahimovic wished the Chechen-born contender well ahead of his UFC 273 clash with one-time welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns last year – with the former going on to land a close, unanimous decision win over the Brazilian favorite in Miami, Florida.