Photo by Todd Lussier/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev, who also does work at 185 pounds, blew the doors off Gerald Meerschaert at the UFC Vegas 11 mixed martial arts (MMA) event last weekend inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch all 17 seconds right here.
The victory validated UFC President Dana White’s decision to book Chimaev against Demian Maia long before “Borz” stepped into the cage against “GM3.” And judging by what they saw on Saturday night in “Sin City,” the bookies are not feeling very confident in what the Brazilian has to offer.
Our fiscal friends over at BetOnline (www.BetOnline.ag) pegged Chimaev as the commanding favorite against Maia at -500 (1/5). The veteran submission specialist, by comparison, clocked in as the +380 (19/5) underdog. It should be noted the fight is not yet official.
That line should not come as a surprise to anyone in the combat sports community. Maia turns 43 in just over a month and is coming off a knockout loss to Gilbert Burns. We also can’t overlook the fact that the former middleweight has been dominated by the top of the 170-pound food chain, losing lopsided decisions to Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman.
Chimaev, 26, improved to 9-0 by melting Meerschaert with all nine wins coming by way of knockout or submission. Nobody asked me, but I would much rather see “Borz” battle someone a little closer in age, like the No. 10-ranked Vicente Luque, 28, who is the winner of two straight and eight of his last nine.
For more results and fallout from UFC Vegas 11 click here.