Senaste nytt
Healthy Khamzat not worried about ’karate guy’ Whittaker: ”I don’t think this guy will be different”
Khamzat. Photo via UFC (Twitter)
Undefeated UFC star Khamzat ”Borz” Chimaev hasn’t competed since defeating ex-UFC champ Usman last October.
In just a few days, he will face former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who’s widely regarded as the toughest test to date for Khamzat.
“Who did stop my takedowns?” Chimaev said at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “Nobody. So, I don’t think this guy will be different. Kamaru Usman has been a great champ, and he took down everyone. But I took him down. I dominate him in the rounds easy. What’s going to be different with taekwondo or karate guy compared to Usman, who’s been a wrestler? He was a professional wrestler before.”
Khamzat: ”I was sick in the morning before the fight”
Chimaev has experienced quite some health issues during his four years in the UFC.
Ahead of the 2022 main event fight against Nate Diaz, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, seven and a half pounds over the welterweight limit. As a result, he was removed from the headliner and instead faced Kevin Holland in the co-main event.
In June this year, he was forced to pull out of the fight against Whittaker due to an illness, and ahead of last year’s the fight against Usman, Khamzat was also suffering health issues.
Now, however, the 30-year-old claims he’s in prime conditioning, ready for a five-round battle.
“I’ve been pushing from first second to last second in my sparring, but I don’t think it will be different in the cage, as well,” Chimaev said. “I didn’t say anything about my health before the Usman fight, so everyone thinks Khamzat went into the cage healthy, but it wasn’t that. I was sick in the morning before the fight. I didn’t find an excuse. I didn’t cry.”
- Analysis: Six undefeated fighters at UFC 308! Who will keep the zero?
- UFC Stars Predict The SUPERFIGHT Between Khamzat And Whittaker!