The triumph of Nassourdine Imavov about Caio Borralho last Saturday (6), in Paris, put the Frenchman even more in the spotlight in the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg). After dominating the Brazilian, the athlete asked for a chance at the belt against Khamzat Shimaev. The possibility, however, did not excite one of the biggest recent names in the category.
Former middleweight champion, Robert whittaker analyzed Imavov's performance and recognized the technical quality of the No. 2 ranked fighter, but emphasized that the task of dethroning Chimaev seems nearly impossible at the moment. For the Australian, the Chechen's wrestling prowess puts him above the other competitors.
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"I don't know how anyone can beat Khamzat right now. His wrestling is at a very high level. I think the way to beat him would be with very high-level jiu-jitsu. If Imavov has back jiu-jitsu at that level—and I know he has very good jiu-jitsu—but if he's truly at the level of Gilbert Burns, maybe we'll see something. But fights are funny, anything can happen. What if Chimaev dives in with a knee or a kick," Whittaker assessed on his podcast. MMArcade.
At the same time, the Australian noted that a victory over Borralho doesn't automatically guarantee Imavov the title of next challenger. Other names could still steal the show in the short term.
"I don't think this fight guaranteed him a fight against Chimaev. I think it put him in the running, but that's it, a race now. Ridder's Reinier e anthony hernandez They will face each other, and if they do something exceptional, they could very well jump the queue,” concluded the former champion.
Undefeated in MMA, Khamzat Shimaev won the middleweight belt in August, beating Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319. The Chechen fighter still doesn't have a confirmed opponent for his first title defense.
Read More about: anthony hernandez, Caio Borralho, Nassourdine Imavov, Ridder's Reinier, Robert whittaker, UFC, UFC Paris
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