UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi marks the return of the ‘Borz’, Khamzat Chimaev against former middleweight king Robert Whittaker. While the Chechen has a serious task ahead of him, he’s still taken the time to pass his verdict on the upcoming welterweight title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and the contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov.
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Ahead of his middleweight showdown against Whittaker, Chimaev sat down with the TNT Sports team for an exclusive “Rate the Fighter” segment where he ranked Belal above the undefeated Kazakh Rakhmonov.
When asked to rate the welterweight champion, Chimaev simply gave a 10/10 but when it came to Rakhmonov, his rating was 9/10, hinting that the Palestinian-American has an edge over the ‘Nomad.’
Now, the two welterweights are scheduled for a title fight on December 7 at UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. But before it gets to that, the action is set to unfold in what would be a barnburner of a fight between Whittaker & Chimaev.
In fact, during the segment, the Chechen was asked to rate his opponent and he gave the former title holder a score of 8/10 while he deemed himself the ‘King of the UFC!’
Ahead of this week’s showdown, UFC interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall also weighed in with his honest thoughts on Chimaev and his odds against a seasoned veteran like Whittaker.
“He’s a berserker” – Aspinall about Chimaev
First off, besting Whittaker is easier said than done. The former champion has been through some wars in the past and he has emerged victorious.
But the adverse effects of back-to-back training camps are what bothers Aspinall, especially given how active Whittaker has been.
On the other hand, Chimaev has long struggled with illness but if he makes it to matchday, it’s a whole different ballgame from that point on.
So, after weighing in on the options, Aspinall said,
“He’s just a berserker mainly, he just goes for it… He’s very good with the boxing, and he’s 6’2” as well which is very tall for the division, but what we see him do really well is faking the takedown and coming over [the top] – he’s got very heavy hands for his size.”
The Brit credited Chiamev’s insane work ethic and his relentless pressure style fighting. 7-0 in his UFC career, the interim HW champ likened Chimaev’s fights to a sprint, only going to the judges’ scorecards twice during his professional career.
And that includes his recent win over former WW champion, Kamaru Usman and the other being against Gilbert Burns. Sharing his thoughts on the Usman bout, Aspinall also added,
“It’s difficult with Khamzat because he’s been quite inconsistent with how often he’s fighting and who he’s fighting – everyone wants to see where he’s actually at and there’s no bigger test than someone like Robert Whittaker.”
So, who are you betting on? Is it ‘Borz’ or is it ‘the Reaper’ who walks away with #1 title contender next to his name?
