Khamzat Chimaev UFC Debut, HOW GOOD IS He?
Who the hell is Khamzat Chimaev? As unless you have been living under a rock for the past month. And at the same time, you are a fan of mixed martial arts. Then you must have been made aware of the waves this Chechnyan wrestler by way of Sweden has been making.
Unknown to most UFC fans before July 15th, Khamzat broke on to the scene at UFC fight Island. With a decisive victory over a tough veteran in John Philips at 185 lbs. And while fighting his entire professional career at 170 lbs. The Russian wrecking machine looked spectacular at the higher weight class.
Immediately taking Philips down with a body kick to double leg takedown. From there on out it was entirely all Chimaev, as he quickly got the Welshman to his own corner, mounted and proceeded to smash for five straight minutes. His top control was exemplary, not giving his opponent even a sliver of hope of reversing the position.
Raining down unanswered blows that totalled in the many dozens. It was one of the most dominating performances we have ever seen from what you might call, a green UFC fighter. New to the promotion, but appearing much more mature and seasoned than his professional record of 6 – 0 might have you believe.
And not being content to hang about and wait, Chimaev quickly called for a fast turnaround and fight on the upcoming Whittaker vs Till undercard. Which also featured his AllStars stablemate Alexander Gustafsson who was making his debut at heavyweight.
So the UFC kindly obliged and offered up former BAMMA champion Rhys McKee, who was making his promotional debut. The fight at 170 lbs was almost a mirror image of the Philips fight. With Chimaev taking McKee down early and pouring on helpings of ground and pound like mom’s famous black bean duck sauce. Ending the fight in the first without a single punch being thrown by McKee.
How Good Is Chimaev?
His performances inside the cage have stoked the interest of MMA and combat sports analyst Brendan Dorman. Who even with only two fights with the UFC, felt his performances had shown us enough to dig a little deeper. Find out more about this newly arrived Chechnyan wrestling/wrecking machine and how far he might go;
So what makes this mauling marauder, a real-life Juggernaut (X-Men) so dominant in his fights? The average fan will say “ground n pound”, but since the wording is goofy, akin to “cage fighter”, the BD MMA channel is going to look a bit further to see beyond the obvious grappling ability, and look deeper into the skill set of Khamzat Chimaev.
BD
With some already calling for him to face a ranked opponent, others are being a little bit more cautious. Give him some time, perhaps one more fight before facing some of those top 15 guys. As once he is in that shark tank, there are no more opportunities to on the precipice that steep learning curve.
And so, how we see things playing out will tell us a lot about how he is viewed within the company. How far he might go if given the right fights, at the right time! Is he fast-tracked or is he nurtured, a champion or a what might have been? Let’s enjoy the ride.