“Dangerous match-up for both guys!” Chael Sonnen gives his two pennies on the Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland fight situation
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Chael Sonnen (L); Khamzat Chimaev (L), Kevin Holland (R)
This week, Khamzat Chimaev has really fallen a rung or two in the high adoration MMA fans had for him. A suitable nickname, Borz (translating to Wolf), perfectly capitulates his great ability to maul people in the cage. However, what is not great is the fact that missing weight by seven and a half pounds showed his ability to get distracted and unprofessional.
Chimaev has seemingly not put a foot right this weekend. From trying to intimidate heel turned fan adored Paulo Costa, to trying to break out a massive fight between his camp, Kevin Holland and Nate Diaz, he could not catch a break.
Yesterday, Khamzat Chimaev came in to weigh in at a whopping 178.5 pounds, which is seven pounds heavier than the allowed limit. This led to the UFC quickly rejigging the card, in order to save the fight on the main event.
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Khamzat Chimaev given a lifeline by Kevin Holland after agreeing to fight at catchweight in the co-main event
Nate Diaz had no reason to accept a fight against a fighter who clearly infringed the statutes – that, is coming in or below the previously agreed weight. He did not, and his team were reportedly pushing to fight only Tony Ferguson as a replacement. The UFC managed to switch the card around – with both fights, Nate Diaz vs Tony Ferguson and Khamzat Chimaev vs Kevin Holland happening at five rounds each. Other than that, Li Jingliang is now poised to fight Daniel Rodriguez.
Quite a handful of reporters, fans and experts have shared their thoughts online, about the insanity surrounding the situation. Today, Chael Sonnen posted a video on his YouTube channel, discussing the situation. This is what he had to say – “Chimaev vs Holland…things just got weird, things just got hard… It’s a dangerous match-up for both guys, one they are both underprepared for.”
Additionally, highlighting the fight’s history, he said, “(That) no one will fight Chimaev… there were some exceptions, including Belal Muhammed and Kevin Holland.”
By choosing these words, Chael Sonnen is trying to bring to attention the fact that both the fighters were preparing for a lower level of competition than what they will face now. With utmost respect to Nate Diaz and Daniel Rodriguez, Khamzat Chimaev and Kevin Holland, for each other are much harder opponents.
This fight, stylistically, is heavily favoured toward Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev is a naturally gifted athlete, with outstanding grappling and night-ending power in his hands. But, now, as opposed to Nate Diaz, he will go up against a taller opponent. On the other hand, Holland is quite weak on the ground as compared to Chimaev. It will be interesting to see how this fight turns out.
Who do you think wins? Let us know what you think!
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)