ABU DHABI – [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] is confident he’ll be able to take [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] to his world with ease.
Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) meets Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (pay-per-view, ESPN+). When asked if he thinks he could stand with Whittaker, Chimaev said he doesn’t see the fight playing out there.
“Who did stop my takedowns?” Chimaev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “Nobody. So, I don’t think this guy will be different. Kamaru Usman has been a great champ, and he took down everyone. But I took him down. I dominate him in the rounds easy. What’s going to be different with taekwondo or karate guy compared to Usman, who’s been a wrestler? He was a professional wrestler before.”
Chimaev hasn’t competed since defeating former UFC welterweight champion Usman last October at UFC 294. He has recently experienced some health issues and appeared to slow down late in his recent wins over Gilbert Burns and Usman.
But Chimaev assures that despite this being his first scheduled five-round fight, he’s still going to storm out of the gate like always.
“I’ve been pushing from first second to last second in my sparring, but I don’t think it will be different in the cage, as well,” Chimaev said. “I didn’t say anything about my health before the Usman fight, so everyone thinks Khamzat went into the cage healthy, but it wasn’t that. I was sick in the morning before the fight. I didn’t find an excuse. I didn’t cry.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.