Despite having fought seven times inside the Octagon, the potential of Khamzat Chimaev still has some question marks hanging over it. Listen to anyone that trains with the middleweight contender and they will tell you that he’s the champion in waiting.
However, his recent performances and issues with staying active have significantly pumped the breaks on what was once the biggest hype train in the entire sport.
We will find out this weekend at UFC 308 where Chimaev ranks amongst the rest of the middleweight division when he faces former champion Robert Whittaker. “The Reaper” has fought many of the top contenders and has only lost at 185-pounds to two champions in Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.
Even in a win that looks great on paper over Kamaru Usman last time out, there was some doubters due to how close the fight was despite Usman stepping up a weight class as a short notice replacement for Paulo Costa. This won’t be the same for a victory against someone that is as highly regarded and proven as Whittaker.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Du Plessis’ coach Morne Visser weighed in with his thoughts on the fight. Having spent time preparing his fighter to face Whittaker in the past, he knows how good the former champion is.
He believes that Whittaker won’t just get the win on Saturday night, he will show that Chimaev isn’t ready to compete with the best guys in the weight class.
“That fight against Usman, who’s a genuine welterweight, was way too close for me. His stand-up is, in my opinion, suspect. His wrestling, he couldn’t do anything with Usman and Rob’s stand-up is phenomenal, his wrestling and his ground work’s awesome so I honestly think Khamzat’s out of his league here. He’s gotta go back to welter where he maybe stands a chance to become something or become a champion. At this stage, I honestly think Rob beats Khamzat and I don’t think it’s gonna be on points, he’s going to grind him. Rob’s a tough dude and he’s smart and he’s got a smart team behind him.”
