Robert Whittaker predicts Khamzat Chimaev will dominate Sean Strickland at UFC 328. Chimaev aims to remain undefeated while Strickland seeks to become a two-time UFC champion.
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: (R-L) Khamzat Chimaev of Russia punches Robert Whittaker of New Zealand in a middleweight fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Robert Whittaker has been on the receiving end of a Khamzat Chimaev beatdown and he likes the middleweight championās chances of doing the same to Sean Strickland this Saturday at UFC 328.
Chimaev and Strickland face off in Saturdayās main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with Chimaev looking to stay undefeated and Strickland seeking an upset to become a two-time UFC titleholder. So far, Chimaev has beaten each one of his UFC opponents, including Whittaker, utilizing a mixture of elite wrestling, raw power, and top-shelf athleticism to come out on top.
In an interview for Paramount, Whittaker assessed Chimaevās chances of becoming an all-time great and whether Strickland stands a chance against āThe Chechen Wolf.ā
āIt depends,ā Whittaker said. āI think the game is still trying to work out the puzzle that is that Russian, Chechnyan sort of wrestling style. I think I have an answer in my head, not that I can do it, but I think the guys that will start giving some trouble to those guys are the really high-level, like back sort of jiu-jitsu guys. But in saying that, we havenāt seen it yet. Much like Gilbert Burns and Chimaev, Chimaev wasnāt able to just hold him down because of Burns, how dangerous his offensive grappling is, so having guys that can work off their back really well and not get stuck while theyāre there.
āSo I donāt think the game has worked out the puzzle that is that and weāre kind of seeingāBut then we say that and then, like Merab [Dvalishvili] before he lost to Petr [Yan], itās the exact same question. How do you beat Merab? How do you stop that gas tank? And Petr did it to the highest extend. He ticked all the boxes and just went in there and did it. So I guess weāre kind of just waiting for the shoe to fall. We want to see if Strickland has what it takes. He talks a big game, he almost convinces me that he can do it, but having been in there with Chimaev and having seen what Chimaev can do once he gets his hands on you, and he will because he shoots from so far away and he commits wholeheartedly, he will get you to the mat. Itās what happens after. Weāve seen that he has the cardio to be able to do that for five rounds as well.
Robert Whittaker believes Khamzat Chimaev will 'run over' Sean Strickland at UFC 328.
UFC 328 is scheduled for Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Khamzat Chimaev is currently undefeated in his UFC career, having won all of his fights.
Sean Strickland is looking to upset Chimaev and become a two-time UFC titleholder.
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āGun to my head, Chimaevās going to run him over.ā
Though Strickland is the clear underdog heading into UFC 328, the former middleweight champion has made a habit of playing the spoiler. He earned his UFC title with a shocking upset of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 and recently knocked out Anthony Hernandez to snap Hernandezās eight-fight win streak.
When Whittaker talks about Chimaevās greatness, he does so from experience, having previously had his jaw dislocated by Chimaev at UFC 308. He doubts thereās anything a fighter can do in camp to prepare for the real thing when itās time to step into the cage with Chimaev.
āThe thing is you can prepare and expect for things as much as you want, but all the preparation we did and stuff, it didnātāHe was just better than the preparation,ā Whittaker said. āHis ability to stick to you, to control the positions, to adjust and move into another position once heās got his hands on you was just next level. We also saw that with the Dricus [du Plessis] fight. Dricus is a hard guy to hold down, heās a big, strong man, and the way he handled him and extended his cardio over five rounds and just kept efficiently making those adjustments so he didnāt gas himself early, the only shortcoming anyone could have said before that Dricus fight would have been his cardio. Investing so heavily into his wrestling in Round 1 and then slowing down in the later rounds.
āSo for him to have closed that gap, to make those adjustments, we prepped as well as anybody else can and Iām sure Dricus prepped as well as anybody else could, itās just [Chimaevās] level is to be respected. It is.ā
For Strickland to have a chance, Whittaker would like to see the challenger focus on striking and preventing Chimaev from getting into grappling range as opposed to having to rely on his grappling defense to survive the fight. Because if the fight gets to that point, it might already be too late.
āHonestly, I think the jab is going to be an annoying obstacle for Chimaev to try and get in on,ā Whittaker said. āBut also the way Strickland raises his knee to throw those teeps and he raises that knee and then jabs you at the same time. So I think that that raising of his knee might be a deterrent for Chimaev shooting in freely. If Chimaev times it wrong, heās going to go straight into a knee, no matter who you are thatās going to hurt. So I think those are the pieces.
āI donāt think the answer is going to be Stricklandās wrestling defense or jiu-jitsu. I donāt think thatās going to play a factor. I think Chimaev is just so solidly into that all-in-on-wrestling formula thatās worked for him since Day 1. You canāt catch up. I donāt think you can catch up, I think you can throw some obstacles and you can try to put some deterrents in there and you can try to work out the cardio levels and efficiency and energy levels of defending takedowns and forcing him back to his feet, etc. etc. But I donāt think thatās where the answer lies to beating Chimaev. I think you need to try and create obstacles for him to be reluctant to try and go into where heās strongest.ā
Roundtable. Just how ugly is this Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland feud?
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UFC 328 Embedded.
Feels like 10 years ago.
May 4.
If only.
On the hunt.
Yeah, this was bad.
Itās not too late to not do this,
Can I borrow $120 U.S. smackaroonies? Asking for a friend.
Only positive thoughts here, people, weāve got a compelling main and co-main event Saturday night so letās hope all four title fight competitors make it to fight night without issue.
(Iām looking at you, Chimaev!)
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