Khamzat Chimaev isn’t overthinking things this weekend.

The unbeaten Chechen fighter challenges middleweight king Dricus du Plessis for UFC gold in the main event of this Saturday’s event in Chicago, in what will be a long-predicted world title shot after he surged to prominence with two victories in the span of ten days on ‘Fight Island’ in that heady summer of 2020.

So far, none of Chimaev’s eight UFC opponents (14-0 overall) have come close to ending his unbeaten streak, though perhaps Kamaru Usman had realistic claims to a draw in their October 2023 meeting.

With his past two victories coming against former UFC champions (Usman, Robert Whittaker), Chimaev can enshrine himself in the history books in the UFC 319 headliner if he can end the reign of Du Plessis, a fighter who has authored a significant winning streak in his own right.

But with just hours remaining until the fight, Chimaev says it is business as usual for him and his team and nor is he paying any mind to pre-fight talk.

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Pressure, like what is it?” Chimaev told reporters, including The Mac Life, in the Windy City this week. “Like, not take [it] personal, just we [are] doing our business, fighting and having fun doing some Twitter sh*t. I don’t know how to do but I try.”

“All the fighters talk but nothing is going to change,” Chimaev added.  “Everyone has to fight in the cage anyways, so whatever he says I don’t care about. I’m here to beat him up and take my money and go home.”

You can watch Chimaev’s full comments in the video above.