Daniel Cormier On Khamzat Chimaev: I Don’t Know If He Can Beat Israel Adesanya

Is Daniel Cormier sold on Khamzat Chimaev "easily" beating Israel Adesanya? Not so much.

Khamzat Chimaev Israel Adesanya
(via Instagram)

Daniel Cormier isn’t exactly on board with Henry Cejudo’s claim that Khamzat Chimaev would “easily” beat Israel Adesanya.

Chimaev is rising up the UFC ranks and he’s been calling out major names. Chimaev is the number 11-ranked UFC welterweight but he’s also had fights at middleweight. “Borz” hasn’t been shy in calling out the likes of UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman and UFC Middleweight Titleholder Israel Adesanya.

During a chat with The Schmo, Henry Cejudo shared his opinion that Chimaev will be the one to knock Adesanya off his perch (via MMAJunkie).

“The guy that will stop (Adesanya) is actually a (170) pounder, and his name is Khamzat Chimaev. I believe Chimaev is just a whole other animal, dude. His wrestling, his confidence. I mean, this dude – from what I’ve heard from a lot of people, this dude literally trains like nobody has ever seen before. When you’re a wrestler, and you’re like that, and he’s driven, I don’t think there’s nobody on the planet … I can see him easily beating Israel Adesanya.”

He continued, “This is the reason why: Because he can take him down, and he has that Khabib (Nurmagomedov) control.”

DC Isn’t So Sure

During an episode of DC & RC, Daniel Cormier explained why he isn’t as sold on that scenario as Cejudo is.

“My problem with Chimaev is that Chimaev is gonna rush. Because he’ll rush to try and get Izzy out of there, he’s gonna get himself in trouble. I don’t know if Chimaev is the guy because he’s obviously smaller, but his style won’t allow for him to sit back with Adesanya.”

Chimaev has been linked to a potential showdown with Gilbert Burns. While the bout hasn’t been made official, reports indicate the 170-pound matchup would take place at UFC 273 on April 9.

Published on February 17, 2022 at 1:12 pm
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