Jorge Masvidal is not optimistic about UFC middleweight champion Kamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) defeated former champion Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker in back-to-back titles to win the title. He then defeated Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 to capture the belt.
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Masvidal was critical of Chimaev’s win over Usman at UFC 294, when Usman moved up a weight class and stepped in with less than two weeks’ notice, resulting in a majority decision loss.
“To me, Chimaev, as good as he looked in the DDP fight, I didn’t think he was that good,” Masvidal said on his “Death Row MMA” podcast. “Look at the Usman fight. Usman was a 170-pounder who fought on 11 days’ notice… I thought Chimaev lost that fight. Look at the tape.
“He won the first round, lost the second and third. Instead of getting more knockdowns, he got stuffed and got punched in the face more. So I definitely think Usman won. That’s a 170-pound guy that fell off the couch, literally. He didn’t train, he didn’t live that life.”
Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) emerged as a potential title challenger after defeating Anthony Hernandez in the UFC Fight Night 267 headliner. If Strickland is Chimaev’s next champion, Masvidal believes we’ll see a new champion.
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“I know he got to 185 and did some big things, but I don’t think he beat Strickland,” Masvidal said. “I’m going to throw the house at Strickland. I don’t even think Chimaev will fight him because they train so much. He just has a bad style for him.
“I’ve seen Sean compete with great wrestlers on America’s top teams – guys who have wrestled their whole lives, All-American champions, national champions. Man, this guy can wrestle defensively. He never uses wrestling in a fight, but if you try to wrestle him, you quickly realize this guy can wrestle, and it takes a lot of energy, and Chimaev doesn’t have the best gas tank.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jorge Masvidal: Sean Strickland is a bad style for Khamzat Chimaev