- Aljamain Sterling points out how to possibly stop Khamzat Chimaev
- The bantamweight champ thinks “Borz” is already fighting like a champion
Many are still buzzing about Khamzat Chimaev and his stunning submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker had just raved about “Borz” and now, current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has also heaped praise on the Chechen MMA star.
The champ could see a future champion
According to Sterling, Chimaev has convinced him that he’s about take over the sport and is already proving that he is bound to become a champion.
“Khamzat is there and he’s coming for everybody’s ass,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “I think he’s legitimately coming for everybody and the way he’s doing it, I think it’s scary. Scary good. He took one strike over the course of how many fights? The only person who’s been able to really touch him up was Gilbert Burns.”
For “Funk Master,” nobody can stop Chimaev at the moment “unless” that fighter is a legit grappling “specialist.” By that, Sterling meant superb overall ground game.
“I can’t see anyone else on this [official UFC rankings] list who can really give him a significant challenge unless they are going to be specialists in the grappling department,” he pointed out. “Not just BJJ, they have to have some type of wrestling. I think Khamzat is a shoo-in to be a champion already.”
A rare beast
Chimaev’s terrible weight miss at UFC 279 resulted to a massive fan backlash. However, Sterling believes that even though “Borz” is causing controversy and generating negative feedback, one thing undeniable is that he’s got that “aura” and “zen” that fans go crazy about.
“Khamzat Chimaev… just an absolute beast and stud of an athlete and stud of a fighter, man,” he explained. “The guy is just a special gift to this generation of MMA, in my personal and humble opinion.”
“Even though Khamzat kind of became a villain after missing weight by eight pounds or whatever it was, I think people are still intrigued by him, he has this aura, this zen that people want to see and it’s just very captivating what he does and the energy that he brings and how he does it,” he added.
Indeed, Sterling is right as Chimaev is now widely considered a big draw in the UFC. As it stands, “Borz” has already won all of his six fights in the promotion. Will he be able to continue his hot streak? Or is someone out there that can stop him? Let’s wait and see.