Khamzat Chimaev heard “something clicking” when he squeezed Robert Whittaker’s jaw at UFC 308

Khamzat Chimaev didn't intend to hurt Robert Whittaker, but it just happened that way.

On Saturday night at UFC 308, Chimaev picked up the eighth win of his UFC career by stopping Whittaker with a neck crumble in the first round. The submission was so brutal that it shattered the former middleweight champion's jaws and teeth, something Chimaev only realized after the fight.

“Before I came in here, they showed it to me, but I felt like there was something wrong with his chin when I pushed on it,” Chimaev said in his post-fight press interview. “So I’m sorry about that. I didn't want to break anyone's jaw, but it's my job to cause someone pain and make me happy, my family.

“I did not try to break his jaw in any way,” Chimaev later added. “It just so happened that I pulled the choke and heard something clicking. I thought I was going to take his neck, but I guess I broke my jaw.”

The win is Chimaev's sixth UFC win and earned him his fifth performance bonus. It could also have given “Borz” a chance for the title. While former champion Sean Strickland appears to be next in line for champion Dricus du Plessis, UFC CEO Dana White suggested after the fight that the pecking order may have changed. If so, Chimaev is looking forward to meeting du Plessis on this occasion in his home stadium of South Africa.

“When it comes to the belt, it doesn’t matter where it goes,” Chimaev said. “I'll just go there and take my gold. So it's up to Dana. I don't think they've ever been to South Africa. So if they go there, it will be a beautiful story and I would like to enjoy that.”

And while winning a title may be the end goal for many fighters, for Chimaev it's just the beginning.

“I talked about three belts a long time ago, so of course I want to move up,” Chimaev said. “But what Dana White and the UFC want, I don’t know. First I have to get the belt in my weight class, then I’ll think about it.”