UFC flyweight Tatiana Suarez said Khamzat Chimaev recently tried to wrestle her whilst they were in a sauna.
Chimaev, who is one of the UFC's most promising upcoming talents, faces the biggest test of his career this Saturday at UFC 273 in Gilbert Burns. 'Borz' has only fought four times in the UFC but could be next in line for a title shot if he gets past Burns.
The Chechen is known for his quiet, yet charismatic personality and Suarez said she has a good relationship with him. They have both been training recently at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas where Suarez recalled a hilarious interaction in which Chimaev tried to wrestle her.
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"I think he's obviously amazing, extremely crazy. He just comes up and kicks me randomly I'm like 'what is going on why are you kicking me?!' He's a little nuts but maybe that's why he's so good. I'm very impressed by him and he's a very big welterweight," Suarez told Helen Yee.
"He just comes and kicks me like shin to shin, we don't even have shinpads on. The other day he was trying to wrestle me in the sauna, I was like 'dude, what's happening?! Let's not do this right here'."
No.11 ranked welterweight Chimaev has already targeted winning UFC titles in three weight classes. He has switched between 185-pounds and 170-pounds for his four fights in the promotion, submitting Li Jingliang in his most recent fight at UFC 267 last October.
Suarez, who hasn't fought in over two years due to injuries, is intrigued to see how Chimaev deals with the step up in competition against Burns. Chimaev is still a heavy favourite in the fight despite Burns' experience as a professional.
"Gilbert has a lot of power in his hands. I'm looking forward to seeing how well Khamzat deals with the forward pressure of Gilbert. He has strong striking and I'm excited to see Khamzat grapple someone with really strong grappling," she added.
"I look forward to this fight because I think it's a test as Gilbert is so tough. I think it will clarify a lot of things in people's minds, not only that but I think it's a great matchup. I would like to see a high level fight after this, maybe at a bigger weight."
