Khamzat Chimaev took on UFC veteran Jack Hermansson in a freestyle wrestling bout this Friday at Fight Night 9. Chimaev defeated Jack in the main event on Friday night. The fight was listed at 187 pounds for two three-minute rounds.
Apart from this freestyle wrestling bout, the event consisted of a variety of fights, including boxing and MMA. Coming to the fight, Chimaev started off by landing a massive throw against Hermansson. This made Hermansson touch the canvas, awarding Chimaev four points early in the fight.
As the bout progressed, Chimaev only got better in his defense. Even though Hermansson was getting more offensive, Chimaev didn’t let his guard down and showed his solid takedown defense.
The fight lasted only six minutes. But it certainly is a boost for the Nordic fight scene since two of the best fighters came under the same banner to show their caliber.
At the end of the second round, the score was 8-0 in favor of Khamzat. Securing a win by 8 points in a 2 round fight certainly shows his prominent wrestling skills. Also, as Kevin Holland recently stated, “Chimaev is big for welterweight“. He even looked bigger than Jack Hermansson, who is a middleweight fighter.
Khamzat Chimaev to Fight Gilbert Burns next?
The debate of Chimaev for the title shot is one of the hottest topics right now in the fight world. With Khamzat asking for a title fight with Dana after every dominant victory in UFC it certainly adds fuel to the debate. But, giving a title fight to a fighter early in his career might not be reasonable. Moreover, Khamzat hasn’t faced any high-profile fighters in the UFC.
Currently, Khamzat is ranked #10 in the welterweight division. So, unless he fights someone in the top 5, giving him the title opportunity will be unfair to others in the division. In such a scenario, Gilbert Burns seems to be a great fight for Chimaev. Burns himself wants to give Khamzat this opportunity. ” why not? I will give him this opportunity ” Burns stated. But, since this statement, he has had mixed feelings regarding the same as he went on to say:
“I don’t think I’ll fight him while he’s ranked at No. 10,…Top-10 doesn’t make sense, but I want to fight, so it’s complicated. Courtesy: (MMA Fighting’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca)” just two days after he made the first statement. With such complicacy in his mind, only UFC management can come to make a decision for both.
