Khamzat Chimaev picked up his fifth straight win in the promotion as he defeated Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision at UFC 273. However, this was the most difficult fight of his career as he was almost finished by The Brazilian in the second round of the fight.
But The Borz somehow managed to survive the onslaught and showed his incredible durability and takedown defense. Although many analysts and fighters were critical about his performance. Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping shared his thoughts about this matchup and slammed Chimaev for not using his height and reach.
“He wasn’t really fighting to his ability and what I mean fighting to his strengths. He wasn’t using his reach, he wasn’t using his range, he wasn’t staying out of his pocket and picking him apart and then going in.
There wasn’t particularly an amount of strategy there from Khamzat.”
“It was just fight. Gilbert’s the shorter guy, Khamzat by far taller, longer. He could have made that this could sound disrespectful to Gilbert and that’s not what I’m doing. But he could have had a better gameplan. He could have stayed on the outside more. Used his reach and his range then mixed in the takedowns. There was none of that it was like let’s just stand in the pocket and throw down.”
It is true that Khamzat was unable to deliver a spectacular finish like he usually does. Nonetheless he outstriked Gilbert Burns and considering the step up in competition, Chimaev showed great striking. Do let us know in the comments section about your thoughts regarding Khamzat’s performance at UFC 273.
Michael Bisping believes that Khamzat Chimaev would beat Colby Covington
After criticizing Khamzat Chimaev for his gameplan, Michael Bisping then discussed what’s next for the Borz in the BT Sport UFC 273 review episode. The former middleweight champion stated that a matchup between Chimaev and Colby Covington makes perfect sense.
Because both Chimaev and Chaos are coming off a win, and it is precise considering the rankings scenario. Thereafter he gave his opinion and predicted this matchup.
“Tough fight, tough fight for both men. I would lean towards Khamzat. Simply because his wrestling would nullify the wrestling of Covington and on the feet he has more power.”
In the end, it is needless to say that this would be an eye-grabbing fight given the drawing power and fighting abilities of both these welterweight contenders.
