Former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson is in awe of Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling dominance.
No one has figured out an answer for Chimaev’s wrestling, which he used to outgrapple Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 and quickly run through Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission at UFC 308.
Now Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will look to fulfill his championship potential when he challenges middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 319 headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at United Center in Chicago.
Johnson broke down Chimaev’s grappling prowess while watching his fights against former champions Usman and Whittaker.
“When you look at Khamzat, you have to look at him when he jumps on you, you better be ready for the best – you better have the best wrestling, anti-wrestling, and fighting skill and ready to rock and roll,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Because once he locks on, he’s going to be looking to go to that position, which I call home. He’s going to sit there and wait and then see what you’re going to do.
“Once you start to post, he’s going to take out that post, he’s going to jump to the other side, take out the other post, get his hooks in, and beat you up until you give him your neck or neck crank, and he’s going to take it. That’s what he wants to do. He doesn’t want to do anything on the feet. If he could, he would wrestle all day, every day.”
Oddsmakers favor Chimaev to remain undefeated and dethrone Du Plessis as he is a -180 favorite, according to DraftKings, and even higher on other sports books.
