Arman Tsarukyan reveals Khamzat Chimaev ignores fight tape

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Arman Tsarukyan has provided some insight into how Khamzat Chimaev prepares for fights.

Tsarukyan has been in Chimaev’s camp as the middleweight champion gets ready to defend his title in Newark next month.

Sean Strickland has questioned Chimaev’s preparation methods in the lead-up to their clash, a bout that’s already showing signs of tension and will likely only heat up further as fight night approaches.

The two have trained together before, but it seems ‘Borz’ may not be as familiar with Strickland as many would expect.

Arman Tsarukyan on what he learned from Khamzat Chimaev

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Sean Strickland has acknowledged that Chimaev got the better of him in past training sessions, but he has also pointed out that sparring and fighting are very different situations.

Tsarukyan recently spoke about how watching the unbeaten middleweight champion prepare for a fight had influenced his own approach.

He noted that while he looks to find patterns in opponents’ behaviour through film, Chimaev focuses solely on himself and hasn’t spent time breaking down Strickland’s style.

“He has a different mindset. He never watches his opponent’s fights. He doesn’t care what they’re gonna do… This guy, he doesn’t know even like what Strickland does or his opponents,” Tsarukyan said on the PBD Podcast. “He never watches them and he doesn’t care what they’re going to do. He cares what he’s going to do to them. So, he has his own game plan just on what he’s going to do. That’s why he’s different.”

While Strickland’s approach is well-known, there are still finer points that could be picked up by studying footage.

This isn’t an uncommon approach among fighters – many rely on their coaching teams to handle opponent analysis and feed them relevant information during training.