One MMA legend is baffled by the reaction to Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant UFC 319 showing.
Chimaev controlled Dricus du Plessis for nearly 22 of the 25 minutes they shared the Octagon this past Saturday. It was a grappling clinic in favor of “Borz.” Chimaev searched for chokes, but he settled for ground control on his way to a unanimous decision victory and his first UFC title win, capturing the middleweight championship.
While many were in awe of Chimaev’s blowout win, others groaned at the performance. Some have said they aren’t interested in Chimaev’s next fight due to the lack of excitement.
Former UFC and ONE Championship icon Demetrious Johnson took to his YouTube channel to suggest that those fans should watch another combat sport (via MMAJunkie).
“If you guys don’t want to watch grappling and wrestling and jiu-jitsu, don’t watch UFC,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Go watch ONE Championship, go watch Lion Fighting, go watch Glory, go watch kickboxing, go watch muay Thai, right? It’s very simple. You guys are complaining about something that’s a very simple problem to fix.
“For example, let’s say Khamzat’s about to fight again, you don’t want to watch his style, all you’ve got to do is go like this, you see this button right here? It’s called ‘off” button. You don’t have to see Khamzat wrestle. It’s a very simple problem to fix. You guys are making it a bigger deal than it is.”
Many agree that Chimaev is most vulnerable on the feet. Rising contender Anthony Hernandez recently told ESPN Deportes that he believes he’d solve the puzzle of Chimaev and “drown” him with his cardio. Hernandez is an intriguing name as a future contender, but the likes of Reinier de Ridder and the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho are likely ahead of him for the next crack at middleweight gold.