Borrachinha goes against the grain and criticizes Chimaev's performance at UFC 319: 'Boring'

Paulo Borrachinha (right) and Khamzat Chimaev (left) face each other at UFC 294. Photo: SUPER FIGHTS montage

Mesmo com uma performance avassaladora no UFC 319, que lhe garantiu o cinturão dos pesos médios (até 83,9kg.), Khamzat Chimaev não conseguiu convencer a todos. Um dos principais nomes da divisão, Paulo Borrachinha não poupou críticas à atuação do checheno diante do agora ex-campeão Dricus Du Plessis. Ele classificou a luta como ‘entediante’ e ‘horrível’.

The fight took place last Saturday (16), at the United Center, in Chicago (USA), and was largely dominated by Chimaev. Even so, Borrachinha was direct in commenting on the new champion's performance and even disagreed with UFC president Dana White.

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"I was very surprised because, in the press conference after the fight, Dana said, 'Wow, he was excellent.' No, he wasn't! He was horrible! It was horrible for everyone watching. That's not good. If it keeps happening like this, people will look for something else to watch. No one wants to watch two guys hugging for 25 minutes," Borrachinha said in an interview with 'The Ariel Helwani'.

Chimaev broke records at UFC 319

Despite the criticism, the fight's stats are impressive. Chimaev took Du Plessis to the ground less than ten seconds into the fight and spent 21 minutes and 40 seconds in ground control, a new middleweight record.

In terms of strike volume, the superiority was even more glaring: 529 landed strikes compared to the South African's only 45. The Chechen also scored 12 takedowns in 17 attempts, demonstrating the effectiveness of his grappling game.

Com a vitória por decisão unânime (triplo 50–44), Khamzat Chimaev segue invicto no MMA profissional, agora com um cartel de 15 vitórias, e finalmente alcança o topo da categoria.