Nigerian-American welterweight believes that Khamzat Chimaev may be less invincible in subsequent bouts. His comments come after Sean Strickland broke the Georgian’s undefeated record at UFC 328 last Saturday. The fight, which was held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, also saw Chimaev lose his middleweight title.
Although Chimaev characteristically controlled the on-the-ground action, Strickland registered remarkable success defending takedowns in the second round. While Chimaev pushed forward, Strickland excelled by using his jab from the back foot to remain ahead on the scorecard. For Usman, the American’s takedown defense, which helped him throw devastating strikes, may have exposed the Georgian’s weakness.
Usman claims Khamzat Chimaev’s style may be less immune to future rivals
With both fighters sporting bloodied faces, Strickland kept defying takedowns in the final round before raising his arm at the final bell. His confidence tallied with the judges’ view, who narrowly but definitely awarded him the victory. Following Chimaev’s first defeat, Khamzat thinks other fighters now have a clear pathway to ousting the Georgian. Per the “Pound 4 Pound” show,
“How incredible it is to see how far Khamzat Chimaev has gotten by training himself. A big key factor is there is never any change in the way this man fights. There’s never any blend of the style. This is something that hurts Khamzat Chimaev.”
With the fight with Gilbert Burns, myself, and now Sean Strickland, I think there’s an apparent blueprint for someone like Khamzat Chimaev. It’s crazy how far he’s gotten by just training himself.”
With only two weeks’ notice, the Nigerian Nightmare proved a stern test for Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023. Usman may have learned heavily from the loss, especially after publicly admitting he would approach a potential rematch differently. Meanwhile, Burns, who lost to “Borz” at UFC 273, has a similar story. He recently claimed that Chimaev’s pre-match antics teased him into being overconfident during the game.
Considering the Nigerian’s reputation and experience, there are valid reasons to not discard his take on Chimaev. For “Borz”, however, Usman’s observation might be a wakeup call to re-strategize and potentially improve his future UFC winning chances.
