Watch: Khamzat Chimaev submits Neil Magny in sparring session

Khamzat Chimaev burst into the UFC leveling three straight opponents in two months’ time. After walking through John Phillips, Rhys McKee, and Gerald Meerschaert, nobody wanted a piece of Chimaev, except for one man; Neil Magny.

Openly lobbying for a crack at the UFC’s new welterweight monster, the two fighters were rumored to square off on more than one occasion, but an especially bad bout with COVID-19 kept Chimaev on the shelf for more than a year. Khamzat Chimaev has since returned, scoring three more impressive wins inside the Octagon, but the career trajectory of both men has gone in opposite directions making a fight between the two unlikely anytime soon.

Khamzat Chimaev and Neil Magny Spar Together in New York

However, a recent video posted on YouTube revealed that the two fighters had in fact met on the mat. Both fighters were putting in work at Renzo Gracie’s New York facility where the video footage was captured. Just over the 4-minute mark of the clip, Magny and Chimaev can be clearly seen grappling with one another.

‘Borz’ appears to lock in a mounted triangle before they reset and continue. Of course, this was nothing more than a light sparring session, but it could give fans an idea of how things might have gone had the two met inside the Octagon. At the very least, it’s an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse at two of the best 170-pounders in the world.