Two of the top MMA fighters on the planet, Khamzat Chimaev and Neil Magny, have been spotted grappling together in a recent training session at Renzo Gracie’s gym in New York. Both men compete in the UFC welterweight division and are ranked within the promotion’s top fifteen, although they are at different stages in their career. Chimaev is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC right now, having built up a perfect 12-0 professional record that has included some incredible finishes in the six UFC fights he’s had so far. Chimaev has a huge amount of hype behind him as a result of his undefeated record and the fact that he has consistently out-grappled some of the best fighters in the division.
The vast majority of his fights have been one-sided beatdowns so far, and the only time he’s even looked human was in a three-round decision win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. Magny on the other hand is a long-time UFC veteran who has been plying his trade in the promotion for just a few months shy of a decade, amassing an impressive twenty-eight fights in the promotion. Magny has put together solid win-streaks on several occasions in the past but has never managed to get to a UFC title-shot. He currently stands at 6-2 since 2020 and is at Renzo Gracie’s in New York as part of his preparation for a fight against Gilbert Burns in Brazil.
A win in that fight would catapult Magny back to the top of the welterweight division somewhere near where Chimaev currently sits at number 3. A fight between the two has been rumoured to take place before, but it could be much closer if Magny does manage to defeat Burns in their fight. If Magny doesn’t win that fight then Burns would be back in the win-column, and he may be able to convince UFC brass to put together the five-round rematch with Chimaev that he has been looking for.
The footage of UFC Welterweight stars Khamzat Chimaev and Neil Magny training together at Renzo Gracie’s New York was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Jiu Jitsu World:
