UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev revealed an unusually stark method he once considered to keep himself grounded as fame and success piled up.

After rising to the top of the sport and securing both wealth and recognition, Chimaev admitted he began searching for ways to protect himself from arrogance.

His solution was deeply rooted in Chechen tradition.
He explained that he wanted to install his own churt – a traditional Chechen gravestone – inside his home as a constant reminder of mortality:

Oh, I have goosebumps. I always have one answer for myself, and I even was thinking about actually doing it, but my elder brother won’t allow it.

You know churts, our traditional gravestones? I wanted to get mine and put it up at home where I can see it all the time, waiting for me, a constant reminder that it all lasts for a very short time.

It’s not forever. A champion, not a champion, rich, poor…
I will die soon anyway.

For Chimaev, the idea was not about morbidity but discipline.

He views the awareness of death as a safeguard against ego and entitlement, something that becomes increasingly difficult to maintain at the highest level of sport:

So, this fear of death and meeting the almighty keeps you real and humble inside.

You remain human despite everything that happens around you.
You can be the king of the world if you believe in God and will remain real and human.

Ultimately, the plan was stopped by his older brother.

UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev wanted to get his churt (traditional Chechen gravestone) made and put up in his home, where he could always see it, to wait for him. He wanted to do it to keep his ego under control after fame and money came. His elder brother did not let him though. pic.twitter.com/ToO7MGNGa3

— PAM (@ParamPam1990) December 22, 2025

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