Aljamain Sterling thinks Khamzat Chimaev is virtually unbeatable.
Aljamain Sterling thinks it’s only a matter of time until Khamzat Chimaev conquers the UFC and wins a world title.
‘Funk Master’ was blown away by ‘Borz’s’ performance against Kevin Holland at UFC 279 and thinks Khamzat is ‘a special gift to this generation of MMA’ and a once-in-a-lifetime athlete that is destined for superstardom and championship success.
Sterling knows a thing or two about championship success and thinks Khamzat, the No. 3-ranked welterweight in the world, is already deserving of a title shot. The UFC bantamweight titleholder thinks Chimaev will go undefeated unless he comes up against a fighter with the perfect combination of wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
“Khamzat Chimaev … just an absolute beast and stud of an athlete and stud of a fighter, man,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Fighting). “The guy is just a special gift to this generation of MMA, in my personal and humble opinion.
“I can’t see anyone else on this [official UFC rankings] list who can really give him a significant challenge unless they are going to be specialists in the grappling department. Not just BJJ, they have to have some type of wrestling. I think Khamzat is a shoo-in to be a champion already.”
“Khamzat is there and he’s coming for everybody’s ass,” Sterling said. “I think he’s legitimately coming for everybody and the way he’s doing it, I think it’s scary. Scary good. He took one strike over the course of how many fights? The only person who’s been able to really touch him up was Gilbert Burns.”
UFC president Dana White wants to see Khamzat move up to middleweight permanently after missing weight against Nate Diaz at UFC 279. The Allstar Training Center product was reportedly vomiting and spasming while trying to make 170 pounds during fight week. After weighing in seven and a half pounds over the non-title fight welterweight limit, Khamzat was relegated to the co-main event where he took on Holland at a catchweight of 180 pounds. He manhandled Holland with ease, submitting ‘Trailblazer’ with a D’Arce choke at 2:13 of the first round.
As for Sterling, the 33-year-old is set to defend his bantamweight title against former champ T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on Oct. 22.