Josh Thomson questions Khamzat Chimaev’s ability amid UFC sidelining: ‘I’m not sold on him yet’
Former UFC and Bellator lightweight contender, Josh Thomson has claimed he not’s entirely sold on the ability or perceived dominance of unbeaten welterweight force, Khamzat Chimaev – as the Chechen-born contender faces another spell on the sidelines through another recent surgery.
Chimaev, 29, improved to 13-0 back in October in the co-main event of UFC 294, landing a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion and pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in the pair’s middleweight clash in Abu Dhabi.
The victory came as Chimaev’s first in the Octagon since he landed a dominant opening round D’Arce choke submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279 back in September of last year.
Recently undergoing a surgical procedure to address a ligament injury suffered in his hand in the opening round of his UFC 294 win over Auchi native, Usman, Chimaev has been backed to feature at UFC 300 next year – amid continued links to a blockbuster title-eliminator fight with former champion, Israel Adesanya.
Khamzat Chimaev’s future called into question
However, one vocal pundit who questions if Chimaev can continue in his dominant vein in his return is Thomson, who admitted he’s not sold on the highly-touted challenger.
“I’m not – I’ve said this the last time I saw him (Khamzat Chimaev) fight – I’m not sold on him, yet,” Josh Thomson said on his podcast. “I’m not sold on Khamzat Chimaev. Everyone’s like ‘you’re stupid, you’re being a hater,’ I’m like, no, I don’t care what you guys say. I’ve been in the fight game a long, long time. Fighters come, fighters go. They explode into the scene and guess what? Then they linger around for a little bit hoping to get back on track and some of them never do and some have a resurgence.”
“Charles Oliveira is one of the guys that had a resurgence,” Thomson explained. “A lot of guys before in the past never did. Melvin Guillard never did. He came on like fireworks and then just kind of fizzled out and faded away and I don’t even know where he’s at now. You know what I mean? That’s no knock on him, that happens to a lot of fighters, I’m just using him as an example. Khamzat Chimaev, I don’t think that’s gonna happen to him, he’s got great wrestling – but he doesn’t have the wrestling of Bo Nickal.”
Do you think Khamzat Chimaev is destined for the top?
