Tag: Khamzat Chimaev

Why Khamzat Chimaev is the Clear Choice for the UFC Middleweight Championship

Khamzat Chimaev opens up about his battle with depression, health issues ahead of UFC 308Khamzat Chimaev or Sean Strickland are set to challenge Dricus du Plessis for his UFC middleweight title. Imagine you’re…

Khamzat Chimaev opens up about his battle with depression, health issues ahead of UFC 308

Khamzat Chimaev or Sean Strickland are set to challenge Dricus du Plessis for his UFC middleweight title. Imagine you’re sitting down for dinner at a restaurant. Before you sit two options; a freshly cooked steak, or an unspiced pile of stale bread. Which would you choose?

Khamzat Chimaev or Sean Strickland

South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis (22-2) was able to capture the UFC middleweight crown in a close split decision against the US-born Sean Strickland. Afterward, ‘Stillknocks’ defended this title against former champion Israel Adesanya by submission. Now, du Plessis is ready for a fight and has two potential opponents in front of him.

Sean Strickland (29-6), former titleholder, is option A. Or, the UFC can choose ‘The Wolf’ Khamzat Chimaev (14-0) is option B.

‘Tarzan’ Strickland believes that he is entitled to a rematch for the title due to his status as a former champion. The US-born athlete believes that his title shot is already agreed to for early 2025. But based on what Dricus du Plessis has said, it is not set in stone just yet.

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 26: Khamzat Chimaev of Russia reacts after a submission victory against Robert Whittaker of New Zealand in a middleweight fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Khamzat Chimaev

‘Borz’ Khamzat Chimaev is a fan-favorite fighter known for his aggressive fighting style. He looks to finish his opponents whether on the feet or on the ground. Of his 14 wins, 12 have come by way of KO/TKO or submission, giving him an 85% finishing rate. Compared to Strickland’s 51%.

For what the UFC likes to see, Chimaev has to be their pick. He is popular among fans around the world and has exciting fighting capabilities. Strickland has neither of these skills. The US-born athlete is known for his trash talk outside the ring, aggressive fighting in sparring, and boring fights inside the octagon. His highlight reel leaves much to be desired.

Sean Strickland

Let’s compare recent wins. Strickland struggled to defeat Paulo Costa. Over five rounds, he landed 182 strikes. This means he performed worse than Marvin Vettori did against the same opponent, who landed 190. Despite having a close match against the du Plessis, no one is clamoring to see Strickland fight the South African once again. It was a plain fight. And in Strickland’s match right afterward, against Costa, he showed nothing new. So why would a rematch go any different?

Conversely, ‘Borz’ earned a quick first-round submission against the former champion Robert Whittaker. It only took him less than four minutes to put ‘The Reaper’ away. Skilled fighters such as Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis, and Yoel Romero, could not perform this feat. That was the fastest anyone has put Whittaker away in his UFC career.

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 26: (L-R) Khamzat Chimaev of Russia secures a submission against Robert Whittaker of New Zealand in a middleweight fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Of course, ‘The Wolf’ is not without his flaws. He has bounced between middleweight and welterweight due to weight issues. At middleweight, he has hardly defeated any career middleweight aside from Whittaker. Plus, illnesses seem to plague his career.

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 21: Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates prepares to face Kamaru Usman of Nigeria in a middleweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The popular Khamzat Chimaev is a breath of fresh air with an exciting style. To add insult to Strickland, Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and Dricus du Plessis, have all said that ‘Borz’ should get the title shot ahead of him. For a good fight, Chimaev is your guy. But if you need a sensitive man to throw a fit over gay people or women, Sean Strickland is your guy.

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 01: Sean Strickland reacts after his victory against Paulo Costa of Brazil in a middleweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 01, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him

Dricus Du Plessis is not backing down from the new big challenge that awaits him in the middleweight division. At UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev delivered a statement performance to put himself into the title picture. The undefeated contender submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round and in many people’s eyes, including Du Plessis’, […]

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis is not backing down from the new big challenge that awaits him in the middleweight division. At UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev delivered a statement performance to put himself into the title picture.

The undefeated contender submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round and in many people’s eyes, including Du Plessis’, he’s the most exciting option as the next title challenger.

This is something that “Stillknocks” welcomes, as he recently made clear in his reaction to the fight in an interview. Even in his ruthless performance against “The Reaper” in Abu Dhabi, there’s a narrative that exists around Chimaev.

Many believe that based on some of his previous fights, “Borz” is extremely dangerous in the opening round but his aggression and intensive grappling quickly drains his gas tank. In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Du Plessis was asked whether surviving the early stages of a fight with Chimaev would be his focus for a game plan.

He made the point that fighters would often say the same thing about him until he proved in his last two title fights that he can maintain a consistent pace in the championship rounds. The South African champion said that approaching Chimaev with this mindset would put him at a disadvantage from the very start.

“Yeah, I’ll be very careful in that sense. I think a lot of guys made that same mistake. I think Sean Strickland made that mistake with me, maybe even Israel. Saying, ‘Listen, get past round one and two with this guy and he’s going to be tired and that’s where you start gaining,’ but if you have a defensive mindset, you’re going to be on the back foot the whole time, especially with a offensive heavy fighter like Khamzat in the offensive wrestling stage and myself in the offensive everything stage.”   

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him

Dricus Du Plessis is not backing down from the new big challenge that awaits him in the middleweight division. At UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev delivered a statement performance to put himself into the title picture. The undefeated contender submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round and in many people’s eyes, including Du Plessis’, […]

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis is not backing down from the new big challenge that awaits him in the middleweight division. At UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev delivered a statement performance to put himself into the title picture.

The undefeated contender submitted former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round and in many people’s eyes, including Du Plessis’, he’s the most exciting option as the next title challenger.

This is something that “Stillknocks” welcomes, as he recently made clear in his reaction to the fight in an interview. Even in his ruthless performance against “The Reaper” in Abu Dhabi, there’s a narrative that exists around Chimaev.

Many believe that based on some of his previous fights, “Borz” is extremely dangerous in the opening round but his aggression and intensive grappling quickly drains his gas tank. In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Du Plessis was asked whether surviving the early stages of a fight with Chimaev would be his focus for a game plan.

He made the point that fighters would often say the same thing about him until he proved in his last two title fights that he can maintain a consistent pace in the championship rounds. The South African champion said that approaching Chimaev with this mindset would put him at a disadvantage from the very start.

“Yeah, I’ll be very careful in that sense. I think a lot of guys made that same mistake. I think Sean Strickland made that mistake with me, maybe even Israel. Saying, ‘Listen, get past round one and two with this guy and he’s going to be tired and that’s where you start gaining,’ but if you have a defensive mindset, you’re going to be on the back foot the whole time, especially with a offensive heavy fighter like Khamzat in the offensive wrestling stage and myself in the offensive everything stage.”   

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Says Opponents Make The Same Mistake Against Khamzat Chimaev That They Make Against Him at MMA News.

Joe Rogan Rallies for Khamzat Chimaev’s Title Shot, Snubs Sean Strickland, After ‘Scary’ UFC 308 Domination

Joe Rogan Rallies for Khamzat Chimaev’s Title Shot, Snubs Sean Strickland, After ‘Scary’ UFC 308 DominationJoe Rogan thinks Khamzat Chimaev should get the next shot at middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. After a year-long…

Joe Rogan Rallies for Khamzat Chimaev’s Title Shot, Snubs Sean Strickland, After ‘Scary’ UFC 308 Domination

Joe Rogan thinks Khamzat Chimaev should get the next shot at middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.

After a year-long layoff due to illness, travel restrictions, and whatever else is going on behind the scenes, ‘Borz’ returned to the Octagon at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi for a high-stakes co-main event clash with former 185-pound titleholder Robert Whittaker. And while Chimaev was listed as a favorite to come out on top, what happened was something nobody expected to see.

Khamzat Chimaev

Chimaev shot in for a takedown within sends, putting Whittaker on the mat and eventually making ‘The Reaper’ tap out via a vicious neck crank in the opening round. Initially, it appeared as though Chimaev had dislocated his jaw.

That turned out to not be the case, but Whittaker did suffer a rather nasty injury, later revealing that multiple teeth in his mouth had been pushed in by the force Chimaev generated.

Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev is ‘The Guy’

Reacting to Chimaev’s dominant performance during his JRE Fight Companion, the longtime UFC color commentator suggested that ‘Borz’ should be next in line for a title shot.

”That guy’s [Chimaev] a scary a** motherf*cker. That grappling is next level. He’s a beast… Once he gets a hold of you, it’s so dangerous…You give him the title shot. Holy sh*t. He gets a title shot, I think. Not just [beating Whittaker in the first round], but ran through him.

“He didn’t get touched. He ran through him and strangled him in the first round. He might be the guy…Think about this at [185 pounds]. So this guy was killing himself to get to 170. At 185, he’s the f*cking man.”

Unfortunately, the next shot at Du Plessis has already been promised to ex-champion Sean Strickland following his win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June, and ‘Tarzan’ isn’t about to let anyone step in front of him.

Of course, nobody would be surprised if the promotion decided to strike while the iron is hot and hand Chimaev his first UFC title opportunity instead of a rematch between Strickland and ‘DDP.’ It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the UFC has passed up the next man in line for something a little more exciting. Just ask Magomed Ankalev.

Khamzat Chimaev

Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience

Khamzat Chimaev presents a challenge to his fellow middleweight contenders that is unlike anything else they have faced in the division. We saw at UFC 294 last year that Kamaru Usman was able to make the fight competitive after weathering the early storm. The problem is that surviving the opening round against the aggressive grappling […]

Continue Reading Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience at MMA News.

Khamzat Chimaev presents a challenge to his fellow middleweight contenders that is unlike anything else they have faced in the division. We saw at UFC 294 last year that Kamaru Usman was able to make the fight competitive after weathering the early storm.

The problem is that surviving the opening round against the aggressive grappling of the undefeated mauler is far easier than done. UFC 308 this past weekend was the best example of this to date.

Despite all of his high level experience, former champion Robert Whittaker was unable to stop Chimaev from taking him down early on and submitting him, causing significant damage to his jaw in the process. The difficulty in preparing for someone like “Borz” is that not many people can match his skillset so fighting him comes with an element of battling the unexpected.

This isn’t a concern for the #6-ranked contender at 185-pounds, Brazil’s Caio Borralho. Borralho previously spent some time in Sweden training with Chimaev for his bout against Nate Diaz that was scheduled for UFC 279 in 2022 but ended up with him facing Kevin Holland instead.

Borralho isn’t trying to pursue a fight with his former training partner for this exact reason but he’s not opposed to squaring off with him in the future if it means that one of them leaves with the middleweight belt. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, he said that his previous experience training with Chimaev only helps him as both men continue to climb up the ranks.

He believes that he has somewhat of a head start on figuring out how to beat him compared to the other top names in the division.

“Yes, definitely. This is something that I’m ahead of all the fighters in because I know what to expect, I know what’s coming, I know how Khamzat works on his wrestling, his wall work and all this. I was with him for like one month so I was dealing with this every day, you know, so definitely I’m ahead of all the guys in the division about it.”

Continue Reading Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience at MMA News.

Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience

Khamzat Chimaev presents a challenge to his fellow middleweight contenders that is unlike anything else they have faced in the division. We saw at UFC 294 last year that Kamaru Usman was able to make the fight competitive after weathering the early storm. The problem is that surviving the opening round against the aggressive grappling […]

Continue Reading Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience at MMA News.

Khamzat Chimaev presents a challenge to his fellow middleweight contenders that is unlike anything else they have faced in the division. We saw at UFC 294 last year that Kamaru Usman was able to make the fight competitive after weathering the early storm.

The problem is that surviving the opening round against the aggressive grappling of the undefeated mauler is far easier than done. UFC 308 this past weekend was the best example of this to date.

Despite all of his high level experience, former champion Robert Whittaker was unable to stop Chimaev from taking him down early on and submitting him, causing significant damage to his jaw in the process. The difficulty in preparing for someone like “Borz” is that not many people can match his skillset so fighting him comes with an element of battling the unexpected.

This isn’t a concern for the #6-ranked contender at 185-pounds, Brazil’s Caio Borralho. Borralho previously spent some time in Sweden training with Chimaev for his bout against Nate Diaz that was scheduled for UFC 279 in 2022 but ended up with him facing Kevin Holland instead.

Borralho isn’t trying to pursue a fight with his former training partner for this exact reason but he’s not opposed to squaring off with him in the future if it means that one of them leaves with the middleweight belt. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, he said that his previous experience training with Chimaev only helps him as both men continue to climb up the ranks.

He believes that he has somewhat of a head start on figuring out how to beat him compared to the other top names in the division.

“Yes, definitely. This is something that I’m ahead of all the fighters in because I know what to expect, I know what’s coming, I know how Khamzat works on his wrestling, his wall work and all this. I was with him for like one month so I was dealing with this every day, you know, so definitely I’m ahead of all the guys in the division about it.”

Continue Reading Top Middleweight Contender Thinks He Has An Advantage Over Khamzat Chimaev Due To Previous Training Experience at MMA News.