Khamzat Chimaev is the boogeyman lurking under every fighter’s bed at night.
In just a few short hours, the undefeated Chechen monster will look to climb to the top of the middleweight mountain when he challenges reigning and defending 185-pound king Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago.
With a perfect 14-0 record and a reputation for ragdolling opponents into uber-violent submissions, it should come as no surprise that ‘Borz’ is a sizeable favorite going into his first-ever UFC title tilt.
As it stands, Chimaev is a 2-to-1 favorite over the South African sensation, though three-time title challenger Chael Sonnen believes that gap is narrowing despite Chimaev’s looming presence over the division.
“He is the monster underneath everybody’s bed. They’re scared to death of him,” Sonnen said via his YouTube channel. “He was a 3-to-1 favorite on the hypothetical line. Chimaev is -225. Du Plessis is +185. So he’s +185. So a -225 to +185. Now I get that that’s not as close to even money as I like to say about the BMF belt.
“That would be a very loose term to me. But it’s not 2:1. Do the math on that. It’s not even 2-to-1. He was a 3-to-1 favorite. What changed? I’m asking you straight up. What changed?”
Sonnen addresses concerns over Khamzat Chimaev’s Cardio
Sonnen posits that the only thing everyone seems to be skeptical of is Chimaev’s cardio. ‘Borz’ has admittedly shown signs of slowing down in his fights. In particular, bouts where he’s forced to go the distance, such as his 2022 clash with Gilbert Burns and his short-notice scrap against Kamaru Usman a couple of years ago.
“Every critic of Chimaev is hanging their hat on one thing, which is cardio,” Sonnen continued. “But then we have the training footage. He’s with CM Calvita. He’s at the training. All he’s working on is cardio. And you still brought that line, the two same guys that are going to go do the same thing, and you brought that line from three to one to with inside two. What should we call that? One and a half?
“Doing this off the top of my head. But guys, I don’t think that you lost respect for Chimaev. Because I feel it too. And I didn’t lose any respect for Chimaev. That’s a dangerous old boy right there. And he’s going to come after you. And he’s got a very unique skill set.”
