How Khamzat Chimaev Forces Wins

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Against all odds it looks like Khamzat Chimaev will be fighting this weekend. One of the most frightening fighters in the UFC will take on Robert Whittaker in hopes of securing a middleweight title shot. Today we’re going to look at what makes him special, where he wins, and see if he can get there against Whittaker.

Table of Contents

• First Things First

• Khamzat Chimaev

• Technical Takeaways

• Cross Body Rides

• What Else Was Worth Watching

• Will Khamzat Ever Cross The Chasm?

• Premium Preview

• Links, Instructionals, And More Matches To Study

• The Most Important News

• Share And Support

Chimaev is more myth than man. After wrestling as a child in Russia, the Chechen man moved to Sweden at 18. There he won the Swedish Freestyle National Championships twice.

Rumors of a destructive Russian wrestler dominating MMA gyms escaped the country. When Chimaev was expected to fight for Brave CF’s welterweight championship COVID-19 postponed the event. Chimaev was without a fight but able to join the UFC.

In just 66 days Chimaev finished three men. He even fought twice in just 10 days across two weight classes. Let’s look at what Chimaev does to get people out of the cage so quickly.

Let’s start with what Chimaev does better than almost everyone. High output grappling. In basically all of Chimaev’s fights he gets people off of their feet to slam them to the ground.

It’s what Chimaev does after getting his opponents to the floor that makes him such an intriguing study. He has great pressure and punching but he hardly tries to attack from head on and pass.

Notice how Chimaev jumped on a choke attempt and then postured away as soon as he lost it? He’s not a jiujitsu guy. He doesn’t want to pass guard. He wants to use his takedowns to get past his opponent’s legs so he can overwhelm them immediately.

Chimaev does his best work when het gets to his opponent’s side, hooks the near leg, and holds the far side, either at the wrist or waist. This allows him to hit and harass his opponent’s face with cross faces and choke attempts.

Let’s go a little deeper on attacking cross body and why it’s so valuable.

If you spend a weekend watching folkstyle wrestling you’re bound to see a cross body ride. The cross body ride works because it controls the hip and opposite shoulder to hold the spine in place. It allows the top wrestler to turn their opponent while making it difficult for the bottom player to escape.

Here is what a classic cross body ride looks like.

1. Hudson Taylor has his left leg laced in

2. His left arm is grabbing the far armpit to create diagonal control on his partner

3. Taylor’s right leg is pushing off of the mat to put weight on his opponent

In MMA you see fighters cycle through modified cross body rides to hit their opponent and attack chokes. Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez drowns people by using modified cross body riding.

If you want to read more about how Hernandez melts people, click here.

Chimaev hunts for variations of cross body rides constantly. He throws his opponent to their hands and knees, hooks the near leg, and, then, instead of grabbing the far arm pit he holds the far wrist. Not exactly the same as the example above, but, mechanically, it accomplishes roughly the same control.

Once Chimaev has an angle on his opponent and the near leg hooked he’ll either force them face down so he can attack the rear naked choke or start unloading punches.

But Chimaev’s ground game doesn’t require this variation of riding cross body. If he doesn’t have a leg hooked and his opponent tries to wrestle into up, Chimaev will jump on his favorite choke.

If Chimaev is in side control and his opponent turns in to wrestle up he’ll hit the classic d’arce choke setup.

If Chimaev is trying to ride his opponent but they fall to a hip he’ll settle in to side to attack the d’arce just the same.

Chimaev will also find his way over your head mid scramble if he doesn’t start hooking the near leg.

This element is important because it closes the loop with Chimaev’s initial wrestling attack. When Chimaev slams opponents they’ll either give up side or break their fall and get to their hands and knees. From there can work to hook the near leg or reach around their arm to secure a d’arce choke.

And that’s basically what Chimaev is looking for the whole time. He blasts opponents with punches, lifts them up, and slams them to the floor.

If Chimaev lands in side control, he’ll pressure in to force people to turn away so he can hook a leg and grab the far wrist. If they turn in, he jumps on the front head lock and d’arce choke.

If Chimaev lands in half guard it looks pretty similar. He punches until his opponent builds up to an elbow. Then he wrist rides, keeps his leg inside, and punches with the free hand.

If Chimaev’s opponent turtles, he hooks the near leg, holds the far side, and starts to punch. If his opponent stays down, he’ll look for his hooks and unload.

When opponents try to stand, Chimaev just pulls them back down to a hip so he can hook the near leg, hold the far side, and start punching.

Chimaev’s tactics are as simple as they are brutal. They’re also extremely energy intensive. You have to wonder how his output grappling will hold up against the nimble Robert Whittaker.

Khamzat Chimaev’s next fight is a particularly tricky challenge. He’s taking on former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Whittaker is a man that looks like could be the best middleweight in the world every time he fights. A karate and jiujitsu black belt that earned a spot on Australia’s national wrestling team after he joined the UFC. The man is a fighting savant.

But the problem with Whittaker is he gets cracked. He has an incredible heart, but also a tendency to get hurt as he bounces and blitzes.

Chimaev does his best work in the first five minutes with hard long punches and those big doubles shown above. You do have to wonder how Whittaker’s stance could negate that wrestling.

Whittaker stands wide and deep. This allows him to bounce in and out with quick punches. It also gives his opponents a relatively easy opportunity to pick up single legs.

Chimaev’s best wrestling comes from double legs and climbing to body locks. This allows him to lift and slam his opponents. I think this is where the fight is won or lost.

If Chimaev can crack Whittaker early or get past Whittaker’s long stance for his double, I have to favor Chimaev. But, if Whittaker can keep Chimaev’s hands open, sting him in between grappling exchanges, and frustrate him first, this is Whittaker’s fight to lose. And it looks more like his win as the fight goes longer and longer.

Chimaev is a berzerker. He’s never looked like he’s built for 15 minute fights. He either finishes opponents early or gets dragged into taking damage later.

Famously, Chimaev faded late against both Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman. And you have to think that with every health scare he faces, Chimaev’s gas tank only gets more questionable.

This is the second time Chimaev has been booked against Whittaker. He pulled out of the last match-up due to an illness. This comes after Chimaev announced he was retiring several years ago due to health complications from COVID-19.

It really is a cosmic irony. Chimaev was only able to secure his initial three fights so quickly because of the UFC’s rapidly adapting COVID-19 policies. The pandemic that birthed the myth of Chimaev is now robbing him of his health and stunting his career.

Can Chimaev live up to the potential everyone thought he had? Will he win Saturday? Will he even make it to the fight, let alone to the final bell?

Unless you’re literally world championship material, you can’t be in the cage with Whittaker late and hope to leave with a win. Whittaker is battle tested and I’m ecstatic to see if he can stop the Chechen’s war path to the title.