Khamzat Chimaev Warned by Middleweight Dark Horse with ‘Superior’ Gas Tank: “I’ll Drown Him”

Middleweight prospect Anthony Hernandez calls out newly crowned middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev's newfound cardio.

Khamzat Chimaev Warned by Middleweight Dark Horse with ‘Superior’ Gas Tank: “I’ll Drown Him”

Khamzat Chimaev gets challenged by a middleweight prospect.(via The Independent)

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Newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev set the tone for the middleweight division after a dominant performance against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319. Chimaev’s overpowering control over DDP dismissed the MMA community’s doubts regarding his cardio. However, middleweight prospect Anthony Hernandez put himself forward to face the newly crowned champion.

Hernandez was present in the audience at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. He watched ‘Borz’ technically dismantle DDP in the Octagon with his superior grappling and newfound gas tank. Despite Chimaev’s performance, Hernandez had a few interesting words for the Chechen superstar.

Congratulations to him, pretty boring fight, but call me for the fight. I can wrestle, I can do jiu jitsu, I can stop all the sh*t, and I can shut him down. With my gas tank, I’ll drown him, I promise.

Anthony Hernandez via ESPN

Hernandez is a rising star in the middleweight division and has a professional record of 15 wins, two losses, and one no-contest. He has fought the likes of Roman Dolidze and Brendan Allen and has had an impressive performance against Michel Pereira. The majority of his wins have come by way of submission, which explains his Jiu Jitsu prowess.

Chimaev was highly doubted for his cardio and ability to survive later rounds. Many MMA fans and fighters believed that Du Plessis would be able to knock out the Chechen superstar as the fight comfortably progressed to the later rounds. However, ‘Borz’ proved them wrong by grappling with DDP throughout the entire battle.

‘Fluffy’ is a pressure fighter known for combining suffocating grappling with high-volume, accurate striking. He thrives on pushing a furious pace that forces opponents into exhaustion, often breaking their will as the fight progresses. With excellent cardio, Hernandez gets stronger in the later rounds, where many of his submission finishes occur.

However, the middleweight contender has a long way to go to challenge Chimaev. The middleweight division is stacked with contenders with impressive records to their names and former champions that are waiting to pounce.

Khamzat Chimaev reacts to Sean Stricklands grappling claims

Khamzat Chimaev’s performance at UFC 319 has put the entire middleweight division on notice. This has led to fighters already calling the Chechen superstar out for a title shot. The most notable is former champion and Chimaev’s former training partner, Sean Strickland. The American fighter took to social media to dismiss Chimaev’s performance after UFC 319.

Sean Strickland aims to diminish Khamzat Chimaev's grappling
Sean Strickland aims to diminish Khamzat Chimaev’s grappling (via BBC, MMA Fighting)

‘Tarzan’ called out Chimaev on X and claimed that he could out-grapple ‘Borz’ for the entirety of five rounds. Chimaev was asked about Strickland’s bold prediction during the UFC 319 post-fight press conference and the new champion had a lot to say.

Bro Dricus take him down many times; how can he take me down? I beat him everywhere, striking. This guy talks too much, he’s a funny guy.

Khamzat Chimaev via UFC 319 post-fight presser

Chimaev wasted no time in reminding Strickland of his two losses against ‘Stillknocks’. However, they share a complicated relationship that has shifted from mutual respect to heated rivalry. They became sparring partners at the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas and showed respect to each other. Things turned sour once Strickland called out Chimaev’s friendship with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The dynamic between ‘Borz’ and ‘Tarzan’ demonstrates the narrow line in MMA between respect and rivalry. What began as a training partnership based on shared effort and mutual recognition has devolved into a vicious dispute driven by opposing personalities, politics, and public callouts.

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