Khamzat Chimaev faces Gilbert Burns in wrestling debut at RAF 13

Khamzat Chimaev is looking for a showdown against Colby Covington next.

Khamzat Chimaev actually had to go until the second period to get a victory but the result was still the same as the former UFC champion dominated Gilbert Burns in the RAF 13 co-main event. While he did give up a couple of takedowns, Chimaev never slowed down and he kept racking up the points until the score got to 15-4, which ended the match as the Chechen mauler moved to 3-0 in RAF. Now Chimaev is looking to add some gold to his resume. “Of course, why not? He has the belt,” Chimaev said about facing RAF crossover champion Colby Covington next. A quick double-leg takedown attempt from Chimaev pushed Burns out of bounds to secure an easy point. Chimaev wasted no time powering through a slick four-point takedown to go up 5-0 but Burns wasn’t going away easy. Burns actually exploded forward with a two-point takedown of his own, which only seemed to fire up Chimaev even more. Chimaev exploded forward with another takedown to go up 11-2 as the first period came to a close. To Burns’ credit, he pushed Chimaev to a second period, which is something no past opponent has been able to accomplish in RAF As the second period got underway, Burns grabbed onto Chimaev for another two-point takedown as he refused to go away in the high scoring match. A moment later, Chimaev grabbed onto a double-leg takedown and Burns crashed to the canvas for the four-point move, which ultimately ended the match. Burns made a good showing for himself and he deserves a chance to come back to RAF again while Chimaev moves to 3-0 in RAF. Chimaev has been nothing but dominant since arriving in RAF but he would definitely face his toughest challenge going against Covington if that match comes together in the near future.

Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns wrestle at RAF 13 on Saturday in Miami

Gilbert Burns of Brazil and Khamzat Chimaev | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC This is the RAF 13 live blog for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns, who wrestle this Friday at the Watsoc Center in Miami, Fla. Chimaev got his start in wrestling, winning Swedish nationals three times in his youth. From there, Chimaev moved to MMA, where he became one of the biggest stars in the sport, winning the UFC middleweight title last year, before dropping the belt to Sean Strickland in May. Since then, Chimaev has returned to his wrestling roots, beating both Dillon Danis and Tyron Woodley in RAF, setting up this match with his former MMA foe. A former UFC welterweight title challenger and world champion BJJ player, Burns was the first man to give Chimaev a hard fight in MMA, losing a competitive decision to “Borz” in 2022. After retiring from MMA in April, Burns is now back to competing in grappling sports and makes his wrestling debut this weekend. Check out the live blog for Chimaev vs. Burns below. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Official Results Post Match