Khamzat Chimaev extended his undefeated record to 12-0 with his sixth straight victory inside the Octagon at UFC 279.
The Swedish wolf was the catalyst for much of the chaos leading into Saturday night’s card, the biggest being his weight miss on Friday ahead of his previously scheduled main event bout with Nate Diaz. On a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow on YouTube, UFC star Sean O’Malley discussed the chaos that was UFC 279, including Khamzat Chimaev’s controversial weight miss.
“He’s a problem at 170 and 185,” said O’Malley. “I don’t know why he doesn’t just go up to 85. If he’s as good as he says he is, which he is. The first time, didn’t he do the towel thing? Missed weight, but did the towel and lost five pounds real quick. Then comes in and misses weight. The thing is, he said he could have made weight. Do we believe that or no?”
The “towel thing” is a reference to a trick where fighters will press down on a towel held out in front of them should they need to remove all of their clothing to make weight. The most famous example came during Daniel Cormier‘s UFC 210 weigh-in before facing Anthony Johnson. During his UFC Hall of Fame induction, Cormier finally admitted to using the towel to manipulate the scale.
“I’ve never had a doctor come in and say, ‘Hey, how’s the weight cut going?’ Cause if they do and they see you two hours before weigh-ins and you’re sitting in the hot tub, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, sh*t.’ They don’t just come in an look. They don’t check on you. “
That is a scary, scary dude! 😳
A FIRED UP @KChimaev is in rare form after submitting Kevin Holland in the first! #UFC279 pic.twitter.com/DzkopqgHZP
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 11, 2022
Sean O’Malley Wonders if Khamzat Chimaev is ‘Just Not Smart’
Continuing to discuss Khamzat Chimaev’s weight-cutting controversy, Sean O’Malley was asked about his own weight-cutting experience, saying the process can be downright scary.
“You feel like you’re body, the last couple minutes in the hot tub or in the hot bath, your heart rate’s high,” said O’Malley. “You feel like you’re dying. If you close your eyes too long, you gotta open your eyes to make sure you’re alive. It’s scary. Cutting weight is f*cking scary so I’m sure if a doctor came in and checked on you, he’d probably be like, ‘yeah, you can’t make weight.’ So I don’t know what happened. It was so weird. I wish we knew the exact details behind that because he said the doctor’s made him start drinking water.”
O’Malley also questioned by Khamzat Chimaev didn’t opt to be honest about the failed weight cut ahead of stepping on the scale rather than offering the media a smirk and a sarcastic comment once he had weighed in.
“I’m curious why didn’t go on the scale and say, ‘Hey guys, the doctor made me. F*ck, I’m sorry. I could have made weight’ instead of being like, ‘It was close.’ I don’t know. But like I said, it’s not gonna make it even. Even if he loses fans, he’s still a big name.”
During the UFC 279 post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Khamzat Chimaev was repeatedly asked about the viability of making 170 pounds consistently, especially if he hopes to compete for the welterweight world championship. During the interview, Chimaev never really addressed Rogan’s question despite being asked multiple times.
“I don’t know if there was a language barrier there or if he’s just not smart,” said O’Malley.
“What do you want to see in a superstar? You want to see him fight. Be active. You want to see him make weight. I mean, those are pretty simple things.”
