Luke
Rockhold believes Khamzat
Chimaev would dominate most fighters at light
heavyweight.
Chimaev (15-1) put his middleweight title on the line against
Sean
Strickland (31-7) in the main event at UFC 328
last weekend. While Chimaev was a massive favorite, Strickland
scored an upset win via split decision, handing the Chechen-born
fighter his first professional loss.
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Chimaev abandoned his wrestling after a desperate takedown attempt
failed in the second round. “Borz” was also visibly drained during
the weigh-ins, with many accusing him of even failing to make
weight. Dana White said that Chimaev allegedly told him after the
fight that he wants to move up to light heavyweight.
Right the Wrong
Rockhold, who trains with Chimaev, was backing “Borz” to dominate
Strickland. Rockhold believes Chimaev will dominate most light
heavyweights with his wrestling. However, Rockhold doesn’t want
Chimaev to move up without avenging his loss against
Strickland.
“There’s nobody at 205 pounds that can really challenge him,”
Rockhold told Submission Radio. “I think [Khamzat] dominates
everybody in the grappling, maybe except for Ankalaev. It is not a
deep wrestling, grappling division; it’s all striking. It’s a much
easier division to win, but I wouldn’t want to settle for losing to
Sean in that one and trying to come back and right that wrong
before he moves up.”