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Khamzat Chimaev backed to excel at middleweight ahead of UFC 294: ‘I think he’ll be even more dominant’

Ahead of his Octagon return at UFC 294 in October, Khamzat Chimaev has been tipped to further continue his dominant roughshod run through contenders, according to Kevin Holland – who expects the Chechen finisher to excel at the middleweight limit. Chimaev, the current number four ranked welterweight contender, is slated to make a return to […]

Chimaev, the current number four ranked welterweight contender, is slated to make a return to the middleweight limit for the first time since his debut in the UFC later this year at UFC 24 in Abu Dhabi, UAE – taking on former division title challenger, Paulo Costa.

Sidelined since he co-headlined a UFC 279 event back in September of last year against the aforenoted Riverside native, Holland, Chimaev improved to 12-0 as a professional at the event, submitting the former with a stunning first round D’Arce choke stoppage.

Kevin Holland expects a dominant run for Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight

And now booked to co-headline UFC 294 in October, AllStars MMA mainstay, Chimaev has been touted to become an even more dominant force at the middleweight limit/

“That should be pretty fun,” Kevin Holland told Helen Yee of a fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa during a recent interview. “I think a lot of people forget that Paulo Costa was undefeated until he lost to ‘Izzy’ (Israel Adesanya). So, I think a lot of people just kind of target how good Paulo Costa is. So I think that’s probably the toughest fight that Chimaev is gonna have to date, especially with the size.”

“I think Chimaev at 185 (pounds) will probably be even more dominant than he is at 170 (pounds),” Holland continued. “Not as bad of a [weight] cut. He can feel more comfortable. I think it’s a good fight. Dude looks like he’s putting on a little bit more size. I think they’ll match up and clash up really well.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

For Costa, the Belo Horizonte native, who has predicted a dominant first round stoppage of Chimaev in “savage” fashion – most recently snapped a two-fight losing skid against former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold.

Do you expect more of the same success for Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294?

Michael Chiesa shuts down retirement talk after lopsided defeat at UFC 291: ‘I’m just not done yet’

Despite suffering his third consecutive loss over the weekend in a main card opener at UFC 291, welterweight grappler, Michael Chiesa has ruled out an incoming retirement from mixed martial arts, claiming he is “not done just yet” – after his first round submission loss to Kevin Holland. Chiesa, who slumped to 18-7 as a […]

Chiesa, who slumped to 18-7 as a professional at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City over the weekend, dropped a one-sided opening round loss to the surging, Holland in ‘The Beehive State’ – suffering his third career D’Arce choke submission defeat.

Sidelined since November 2021, Chiesa, who recently underwent surgery to address a greulling back injury, had yet to featured since dropping a unanimous decision loss to Sean Brady at the UFC Apex facility.

Prior to that at UFC 265, Chiesa dropped a D’Arce choke loss to incoming headliner, Vicente Luque.

Michael Chiesa has no plans to call time on career

And despite suggestions of a potential retirement from active competition off the back of his loss to Holland over the weekend, Chiesa claimed he was not ready to hang up his gloves

“MMA fans are coming at me all different types of direction, saying I should retire and I should be done, be a broadcaster now,” Michael Chiesa said on UFC Round Up. “There’s just so many things that people are saying but it’s just gonna sweeten the pot because I’m not done. I just didn’t show up on fight night.”

“Trust me, I’m not gonna be the guy to overstay my welcome,” Michael Chiesa continue. “But I’m just not done yet. I have more to prove to myself.”

Over the course of his tenure in the UFC, The Ultimate Fighter 15 victor, Chiesa has landed wins over the likes of Al Iaquinta, Francisco Trinaldo, Jim Miller, Beneil Dariush, Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Neil Magny, and former lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos.

Would you like to see Michael Chiesa continue fighting?

5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 291

UFC 291 went down on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, and just like the last card the promotion brought to town, it was packed with exciting scraps and…

Video – Michael Chiesa predicted own D’Arce choke loss to Kevin Holland days before UFC 291

Michael Chiesa managed to predict his own defeat at UFC 291 days before the bout went down. The TUF alumnus returned to the Octagon for the first time in almost two years for a welterweight clash with division standout Kevin Holland. Unfortunately, things did not go Michael Chiesa’s way as ‘Maverick’ suffered a first-round submission […]

Michael Chiesa managed to predict his own defeat at UFC 291 days before the bout went down.

The TUF alumnus returned to the Octagon for the first time in almost two years for a welterweight clash with division standout Kevin Holland. Unfortunately, things did not go Michael Chiesa’s way as ‘Maverick’ suffered a first-round submission defeat via D’Arce choke. It was Chiesa’s third-straight loss dating back to 2021, but unlike his other two defeats, Chiesa actually predicted his demise days before stepping back inside the cage.

During an appearance on ESPN’s DC & RC, co-host Daniel Cormier commented that Kevin Holland’s jiu-jitsu game would be a legitimate threat to the wrestle-heavy approach of Chiesa. From there, ‘Maverick’ pointed out that Holland has a solid D’Arce choke and referred to the hold as his own version of kryptonite.

“He’s got a good D’Arce choke, and what has been one of my kryptonites in the past, Cormier? The D’Arce choke,” Chiesa said.

It was actually Michael Chiesa’s third time losing via D’Arce inside the Octagon, the first coming in a 2013 bout with Jorge Masvidal. The second time came in 2021 when he succumbed to the maneuver against Vicente Luque. The losses to both Holland and Luque came in the first round.

Michael Chiesa Has No Intention of Retiring After Third-Straight Loss

Following the defeat, many suspected that Michael Chiesa would hang up the gloves, but ‘Maverick’ debunked those rumors on social media shortly following his loss.

“Congrats to [Holland] and his team. Kevin is a helluva fighter, one of the most game fighters in combat sports,” Chiesa wrote on Instagram. “I knew this was a very challenging opponent to face coming off almost a two year layoff, but I’ve never said no to a fight.

“I’ll dust myself off, get back in the gym and get back to work. I ain’t done yet.”

Chiesa’s decision to keep moving forward goes against the advice of Kevin Holland, who suggested that ‘Maverick’ lay down the gloves for good and enjoy his job as an analyst.

“It’s like the game has circled and passed him and seriously left him,” Holland told reporters during his post-fight interview. “Guys, you have to be realistic. People always talk about, ‘Oh, I want to get a title. I want to get a title.’ I mean, let’s be real. Some of you guys are in the UFC, and you’re never gonna get a f*cking title. It’s like, buy some jewelry like me. And then it’s like, retire, commentate, focus on your family; you’re never gonna get a title.”

Kevin Holland believes "the game has passed" Michael Chiesa and he should retire after #UFC291

"I definitely think he should focus on commentating. I definitely think he's one of the better commentators." pic.twitter.com/pt2kOKmCXA

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 30, 2023

Kevin Holland wraps quickfire D’Arce choke win over Michael Chiesa in massive win – UFC 291 Highlights

Surging welterweight contender, Kevin Holland will likely crack the division top-15 come the release of the official rankings update next week, stopping the returning, Michael Chiesa with an opening round D’Arce choke to open the main card of UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Holland, who entered tonight’s scheduled pairing with the returning, Chiesa […]

Holland, who entered tonight’s scheduled pairing with the returning, Chiesa off the back of a dynamic knockout win over veteran Argentine contender, Santiago Ponzinibbio, turned in a one-sided win in his main card opener against the former, showing his striking talent on the feet early and often.

Pressing the returning Ultimate Fighter victor, Chiesa on the feet throughout the opening round for as long as their frame lasted, blasting a knee through the middle during a clinch, Holland managed to wind up on top, wrapping up a D’Arce choke on the Colorado native. And following the win, Holland suggested an impending move back to prior middleweight waters.

Below, catch the highlights from Kevin Holland’s quick win at UFC 291

Kevin Holland takes hilarious dig at Colby Covington during UFC 291 media event: ‘He starts sniffing my d*ck…’

Kevin Holland once again stole the show during his UFC 291 media day appearance on Wednesday. Fighters were on hand in Salt Lake City as the promotion is just days away from another stacked event in the Crossroads of the West on Saturday night. In the main event of the evening, fans will witness a […]

Kevin Holland once again stole the show during his UFC 291 media day appearance on Wednesday.

Fighters were on hand in Salt Lake City as the promotion is just days away from another stacked event in the Crossroads of the West on Saturday night. In the main event of the evening, fans will witness a rematch five years in the making as high-octane fan favorites Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier square off in a five-round headliner to crown the next BMF champion.

Before fans are treated to that potential Fight of the Year contender, ‘Trailblazer’ Kevin Holland will look to add another win to his resume as he is set to scrap with The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Michael Chiesa inside the Delta Center. Ahead of their clash in the cage, Holland spoke with the media during the UFC 291 media day and did not disappoint, giving tips on how to juggle multiple women and labeling himself as one of the promotion’s undisputed bad motherf*ckers.

But of all the things Kevin Holland said during his time with the press, nothing got more attention than his dig at perennial welterweight contender Colby Covington.

Addressing the grapple-heavyweight style of Michael Chiesa and his own deficiencies on the ground, Kevin Holland revealed that his interest in fighting Chiesa hinged on his desire to test out his wrestling skills in an actual fight. Not to suggest that his skills are greater than his opponents. It was then that Holland brought up Covington’s name, taking a dig at the outspoken wrestler’s smothering style of fighting that is anything, but fan-friendly.

“I want to work on my wrestling in the cage against Michael Chiesa,” Holland said. I didn’t say that my wrestling was good enough to beat Colby Covington, you know what I mean? Now, me and Colby Covington get in there, I still believe I’ll knock him the f*ck out, but you know, he starts sniffing my d*ck, and it might be like that for 25 minutes, so that’s just the way it goes.”

You can expect Colby Covington’s scathing response in 3…2…

Kevin Holland Has Some Work to Do If He Wants to Step Inside the Octagon with Colby Covington

If Kevin Holland manages to get his hand raised on Saturday night, it will likely push him into the welterweight division’s top-15, though he won’t be anywhere within earshot of Covington who currently occupies the No. 2 spot. Whether or not ‘Chaos’ deserves to be ranked that high is an entirely different conversation, but ‘Trailblazer’ definitely has some work cut out for him if he ever hopes to share the Octagon with Covington.

Of course, Holland may shy away from the potential meeting altogether depending on how protective he is of his pelvic region.

Meanwhile, ‘Chaos’ is eagerly awaiting his third UFC welterweight title opportunity after coming up short against ex-champ Kamaru Usman on two separate occasions. In his last four bouts, Covington has only secured two wins which came against fighters who are no longer active; Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal.