Khamzat Chimaev is set to make his return to the octagon in June as he faces Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC on ABC 6. Michael Bisping recently weighed in on the matchup, sharing that it could be a long night for the undefeated No.11-ranked middleweight.
Speaking on his podcast, Believe You Me , the UFC Hall of Famer stated:
“This is the first five round fight that he’s been in, which, automatically, if you’re in the corner of Khamzat Chimaev, you’ve got to be concerned. One thing Robert Whittaker is not going to do is run out of gas. He’s very, very experienced fighting at the highest level for a long time. Without getting into the X’s and O’s, the obvious thing is Khamzat always gasses. He’s a tremendous force of nature.”
Bisping continued:
“The way he takes people down and dominates them right from the opening bell. I mean, he did the same thing against Kamaru Usman – granted didn’t get the finish – but he definitely did slow down. Against Gilbert Burns, same thing. He had a great round one. Two and three were kind of close. Five rounds against somebody like Robert Whittaker, if he can’t finish him early, that could be a disastrous night for him in Saudi Arabia.”
Check out Michael Bisping’s comments on Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev below:
In addition to fighting in a five-round bout for the first time in his mixed martial arts career, Khamzat Chimaev is set to face a ranked middleweight opponent for the first time. There have been questions about whether or not he will be able to hold up at middleweight, with many sharing Bisping’s stance that he could be in trouble if he does not get an early finish.