BJM On Unknown Chechen Fighter Who Is On The Level Of 'Any Champion' At Featherweight & Lightweight

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https://www.mmanews.com/news/big-john-mccarthy-unknown-chechen-fighter-champion-featherweight-lightweight

McCarthy speaks on the global talent pool in MMA

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As the sport of MMA continues to grow, so does the appeal and talent pool that exists world wide.

The sport is always seeing new fighters emerge from countries that you wouldn’t always think to keep an eye on in search of the next big thing.

This is obviously a great thing for the development of the sport but it also leaves a big question: what if the best guy in the world is out there somewhere but no one knows his name?

The UFC, along with other promotions, do their best to scout talent and find the fighters that could become world champions or big names but things aren’t always that simple.

Sometimes, world class talent is out there but isn’t able to break through and one of the sport’s great historians has his eye on a fighter just like that.

‘Big’ John McCarthy Says There’s An Unknown Fighter From Chechnya Who Can Hang With The Best In The World

In a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, “Big” John McCarthy spoke about these unknown talents that can come out of nowhere.

He specifically mentioned Khamzat Chimaev who, despite making some waves in Europe, was still somewhat of an unknown to the majority of the UFC fanbase when he made his debut.

McCarthy believes that he knows of another fighter who could do the same as Chimaev, even hailing from the same republic as “Borz”.

Without mentioning his name, the veteran referee spoke about a fighter that he has seen up close and personal who might just be one of the best kept secrets in MMA.

"There’s a kid out there in Grozny, Chechnya, that look he’s tied up with an organization there and they’re not going to let him go and he’s not going to go anywhere. That sumb**** can fight with anybody.

“Right now, give any champion in the featherweight or lightweight division a god damn fight but no one knows him and I’ve seen him, I’ve reffed him. But man, it’s not only he, there are guys out there like that and people don’t, if you don’t go around this world and see the different people that are out there and who’s fighting and get a good view of the talent, and there is incredible talent in the sport of MMA worldwide.”