Nassourdine Imavov’s mother doesn’t want him to fight Khamzat Chimaev.
Imavov is currently leading the race for a middleweight title shot against Khamzat Chimaev. There should ideally be no complications in the matchup as Imavov and Chimaev are neither teammates nor the closest of friends. However, fighters with Caucasian heritage have a different approach.
While Imavov lives in France, he was born in Dagestan, and Chimaev hails from Chechnya. Although Imavov understands that it might be hard for Westerners to comprehend, he explains that a matchup between him and Chimaev could be frowned upon in the Caucasus mountains.