How disappointing was Khamzat Chimaev's reign as UFC middleweight champion? 😳

Chimaev needs to just move up. They have ZERO reason to give him a rematch. A) He never once defended the belt. B) He waited 268 days to defend the belt. C) He said before his fight with Strickland that he was going to vacate and move up to 205. So why give him a rematch? If he wins he will just vacate and move up.

richknife1002mo ago

I dont consider it disappointing since he lost by split decision

oldnhbfreak4mo ago

It was disappointing because he was so dominant in the fights before. He has the skill in the octagon but lacks the right mindset/coaches/health to do his job. I think that if he gets a rematch and gets that right Strickland is getting what DDP and Whittaker got.

pimblynimbly3w ago

He wasn't totally dominant though he's had his limits exposed twice at least, vs Usman and vs Burns.... He beat Whittaker on a fluke, I don't think he beats Whittaker again. Jaw crank broke an already weakened lower mandible.

kyle.dimond4mo ago

I think it'll take Khamzat winning a back and forth fight over five rounds for people to not have some major doubts though. Even if he smokes Strickland in a rematch, I wonder how much that helps his reputation

marianoalanislobato4mo ago

Disrespectful to duplessis to burns to his followers and himself... C'mon he made Strickland look like a kid first round. then stopped fighting.... Stricklands worst fight ever btw he won with jabs???? C'mon that's rigged please... Very sad chimaev did that to his reputation, the sport and his probably now ex supporters

pvadodaria4mo ago

#3 p4p as well. Guy had 0 defenses and beat what, an aging Whittaker and Usman. He was ranked above Pre-UFC 323 Pantoja which is just wrong. Pantoja had 4 successful defenses at the time.

dr.cheyno4mo ago

Yeah p4p is rubbish imo. It's a lot of hype. Chimaev started so impressively, then as you said dominated an ageing Whittaker and Usman. His wrestling is good but he's constantly had weight and cardio struggles. Pretty sure Aspinall was in the p4p rankings wasn't he? And he really only beat Blaydes and Pavlovich.

pvadodaria4mo ago

How is he still ranked above Pantoja. This is criminally bad. Dude had one failed defenses and Pantoja had 4 successful defenses.

xallenj774mo ago

Sounds like the biggest p*say of an excuse ya bro my new condition coach blew this fight for me

harvey.leonard4mo ago

Especially when that same coach was praised as being a great addition to the camp when Chimaev beat DDP. Suddenly he is now at fault

nick00769w4mo ago

Dude was all hype. It's easy to out wrestle people that don't know how to wrestle. Plus it's the changing of the guard, a lot of people are past their prime.

seabright054mo ago

Exactly, even low level amateur fighters know this, I boxed in the 70s and my buddy was a wrestler, when we sparred with gloves on I beat him but he held his own much better than I did when we wrestled lol. There was no mma back then but if we had a fight I had 1 chance, a ko before he grabbed me.

axethetacs4mo ago

Hazmat couldn't handle being hit in the face; most grapplers have the same weakness. And please, no more excuses about his weight cut; he is a professional and knows his limits.

zac36663mo ago

You are delusional Sean said himself that he kept hitting him as hard as he could and he kept coming forward the weight cut is what beat him plain and simple if you put the same Khamzat in that broke Whitaker's face he wins 10 out of 10 times against anybody.

almolleda084mo ago

Spot on

jamie.theodosi4mo ago

I think it was unlikely that he would stick to the weight class for the long run anyway. But he’s lost a lot of stock now.

moosemahoney4mo ago

Why is Sean still the underdog all the time? The man made beating Costa and Adesanya easy FFS

jordan.ellis4mo ago

Very. I thought he was gonna dominate for years.

kyle.dimond4mo ago

Disappointing that he lost the belt in his first defense but he was always going to try and move up quickly anyways.

harvey.leonard4mo ago

Massively. The silver lining is the division will at least now have an active champion. But Chimaev not recording a single successful defense is a shock