Daniel Cormier believes Khamzat Chimaev decided to stop cutting weight because he realized the repercussions were “not going to be as severe” for him as others.
Daniel Cormier recently weighed in on Henry Cejudo’s comments that Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for his originally scheduled bout against Nate Diaz due to over-training.
Cormier contradicted Cejudo by claiming that Chimaev intentionally stopped cutting weight when he realized the consequences wouldn’t be too stringent for him.
Khamzat Chimaev was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279. The fight fell through when ‘Borz’ missed weight by a colossal margin of 7.5 lbs. The Chechen-born Swede was replaced by Tony Ferguson, while he went on to face Kevin Holland at a catchweight of 180lbs.
During the ‘Tap In or Tap Out’ segment of ESPN MMA’s The DC & RC show, a section where the hosts concur or differ on the latest developments in the world of combat sports, ‘DC’ said:
“I tap out [disagree]. I feel like you have to over-train when you’re too big for a weight class. Because when I was making 205 [light heavyweight limit], I did 13-14 sessions a week.”
Cormier added:
“Honestly, I just feel like he made a decision that he wasn’t gonna do it when he got to a certain weight-class and understanding that the repercussions for him were not gonna be as severe as some of the other people. I just think he made a decision.”
Once in a blue moon, a talent emerges from out of nowhere and takes the sporting world by storm. Khamzat Chimaev has been that prospect for the UFC. However, ‘Borz’ seems to be running into issues making the welterweight limit. Perhaps the Chechen-born Swede will make it a point to dial his diet and training in. Especially if he’s hoping to secure a shot at divisional gold down the line.
Watch DC’s comments starting from the 48:00 min mark below:
Daniel Cormier chimes in on Khamzat Chimaev’s chances of competing against the best in the middleweight division
Following the weight-cutting debacle at UFC 279, Khamzat Chimaev’s coach Andreas Michael publicly announced that a move to middleweight is inevitable for his pupil.
MMA experts have favored Chimaev’s chances of competing against the elite in the middleweight division owing to his size, wrestling pedigree, and sheer dominance.
Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier weighed in on Chimaev’s chances of beating the best in the division on The DC & RC show:
“When I look at these guys like Chimaev that dominate in the way that they do, I always ask myself this, ‘Would I put him against Robert Whittaker, do you favor him? Paulo Costa, do you favor him?’ How many of those guys do you favor Khamzat Chimaev to beat? And when you answer the question, it’s many of them.”
Chimaev’s dominant display against former middleweight Kevin Holland at UFC 279 all the more answered these questions for Daniel Cormier.
Watch the video below:
