Javier Mendez Ranks Khamzat Chimaev’s Grappling as A+, Compares Him to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev

Javier Mendez has given his thoughts on the grappling of Khamzat Chimaev as ‘Borz’ continues to flourish in the UFC.

As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is one of the scariest fighters in mixed martial arts. He has looked remarkable since arriving in the UFC during the pandemic and now, he seems to be on the verge of a shot at the UFC middleweight championship.

After all, he’s coming off the back of an emphatic submission win over Robert Whittaker, which is more than enough evidence of what he can do in this division.

Javier Mendez, who has coached his own fighters to plenty of submission wins over the years, recently gave his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s grappling in comparison to Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Javier Mendez praises Khamzat Chimaev

“I think they’re at the same level. but they’re different. They’re not the same fighters; they’re just different, like Khabib and Islam. They’re on the same level, but they each bring something unique. Khamzat is different—he’s not Islam, he’s not Khabib, he’s Khamzat. So, I would rate his ground skills as A+. A+ for Islam, A+ for Khabib, but they’re all distinct. In my book, they’re all A+.”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

Javier Mendez, alongside the MMA community as a whole, recognizes the greatness of Khamzat Chimaev. While it’s frustrating that he isn’t exactly the most active of fighters, we all know what he’s capable of – and we all know how interesting a fight between him and Dricus du Plessis would be.

In terms of when we may see him back in the cage, nobody knows for sure. If the company wants to take advantage of Khamzat’s momentum, they’ll want to get him back in there ASAP – potentially in the first quarter of 2025.

With that being said, Sean Strickland may have something to say about it.