Sean Strickland’s Coach Analyzes Khamzat Chimaev’s Biggest Weakness: ‘We Don’t Have to Go 0 to 60′
Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t have to go from zero to 60 every time he steps inside the Octagon.
After a dominant first-round submission victory over Robert Whittaker last year, ‘Borz’ is expected to be the next man up for reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Much of Chimaev’s success inside the Octagon has been courtesy of his balls-to-the-wall style of fighting that finds him quickly downing his opponents and either submitting them or pounding out a quick-fire finish. However, the undefeated Chechen monster has been taken the distance twice, and in both instances, one thing became abundantly clear.
Chimaev’s gas tank is his weakness.
Khamzat Chimaev’s pacing will be the key to his success atop the middleweight division
Speaking about Chimaev’s chances against Du Plessis in their all-but-guaranteed title fight, former Sean Strickland coach Eric Nicksick believes addressing Chimaev’s chaotic output could be the key to ensuring he becomes a world champion in 2025.
“With Khamzat and the cardio side of things, yeah, a lot of that has to do with his output,” Nicksick said on his Verse Us podcast. “He goes zero to 100 right now. Like, he wants you to feel like he’s in this fight. And maybe since then, he’s trained himself to be able to sustain that a little bit longer. Maybe he’s paced himself a little better.
“That would be my approach if I was coaching him for a five-rounder. Like, ‘Hey, we don’t have to go 0 to 60.’ But the smothering technique of his grappling—he doesn’t really have to do a whole lot. He can just get in these positions and ride dudes out, slowly and methodically go from position to position, and then get a finish. And he makes it look strategic and almost systematic.”
No official date has been announced for Du Plessis’ expected title tilt with Chimaev, but there’s a good chance we won’t see them go toe-to-toe until sometime this summer, at the earliest.
