Khabib Nurmagomedov has shared his support for Khamzat Chimaev, giving ‘Borz’ a path to victory ahead of his first shot at UFC gold.
‘The Eagle’ is no stranger to coaching fighters to victory, as he has done time and time again with his Russian armada. The legendary figure in MMA has seamlessly transitioned into coaching, managing to help guide Islam Makhachev, Usman Nurmagomedov, and many others to become some of the best fighters in the world.
Khamzat Chimaev has long been a star inside the octagon but has the chance to significantly boost his fame with a win at UFC 319 on August 16. Chimaev will face Dricus Du Plessis, the seemingly unstoppable South African who possesses devastating knockout power and solid wrestling.
Weighing in on the matchup, Khabib Nurmagomedov insisted that Du Plessis likely won’t have the size advantage over Chimaev.
“I don’t think he’s bigger than Khamzat,” Khabib said. “First of all, he may be taller, but in terms of weight, I doubt he’ll be that much bigger…”
“Yeah, that’s a very good fight. It’s kind of like a climactic moment. Like everything you’ve been doing, preparing for, it’s all led to this — now you have to deliver.”
Khabib then analyzed the threat Dricus Du Plessis poses.
“He’s the kind of fighter — if you don’t knock him out, he’ll fight until the end… He’s an interesting opponent.”
“He’s very tough, he’s going to scrap. [He is] kind of an unorthodox kickboxer. He throws hands and legs.”
“What’s good — or rather, what’s bad — about Du Plessis is he’s not super accurate, but he throws a lot. He’s always throwing hands and legs, constantly… He throws a lot of volume, he doesn’t stand still.”
Related: Middleweight contender weighs in on Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Despite Du Plessis arguably holding the advantage on the feet, Khabib believes Chimaev should strike with the champion.
“I think — personally — I would advise Khamzat to strike with him… Well, imagine if I were coaching — I’d give different advice [than to be overly aggressive from the start].”
“If you put them in straight boxing, Khamzat is better. Pure boxing-wise. That’s my opinion.”
“There’s just this one thing — you can try to force things early. Like [in the] first round or two, but if you don’t finish him, you’ll burn a lot of energy. And later, you’ll need it in the championship rounds.”
Listen to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s advice to Khamzat Chimaev and more below.
