At UFC 319, Khamzat Chimaev will compete in his first UFC title fight.
The undefeated middleweight was expected to go and accomplish big things from an early stage in his UFC career and clearly, there are a lot of fans hoping that he’ll be successful at UFC 319.
Despite this, former UFC fighter Din Thomas recently claimed that Chimaev winning would be a “disaster” due to the challenger’s track record for staying active in recent years.
Belal Muhammad countered Thomas’ arguments by stating that the crowning of a new undefeated middleweight champion would be a huge moment for the UFC.
A fellow UFC middleweight weighed in with his take several weeks before this started to become a bigger talking point ahead of August 16.
LATEST NEWS: Dricus Du Plessis explains why his ‘controversial’ fight style will be his superpower against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCRobert Valentin believes that Khamzat Chimaev can provide something that fans are lacking right nowIn an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, Robert Valentin previewed his matchup at UFC 318 before giving his thoughts on some of the big middleweight matchups that were on the cards.
When the discussion reached the main event of UFC 319, Valentin stated at first that he didn’t have a prediction or breakdown for how it will play out.
He instead chose to raise the talking point that in his opinion, there are a lot of fans backing the challenger because they believe that he can bring something to the sport that it’s currently lacking.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesValentin took a similar stance to Belal Muhammad in arguing that Chimaev becoming champion would make the division more exciting and give the promotion a new major star.
“I don’t really want to make a big prediction for this one, I just want to say this. The UFC fans right now, they’re demanding new, big names. New champions that are entertaining. Not saying that Dricus [du Plessis] is not that guy, he’s definitely a character, but this old generation of champions and big names is fading.
“The fans, you can feel this energy in the UFC right now, they kind of miss something or they want these super exciting names and Khamzat can be that guy in the middleweight division. If he takes that belt, it’s going to shake up the whole UFC and the fights to make after that are just huge.”
Though he initially said that he didn’t have a prediction for this fight, Valentin later revealed that he believes Chimaev will remain undefeated in Chicago.
“It’s going to be a very tough one but I hope and I think Khamzat is going to end up on top and take the belt and then the new generation of the UFC is going to get rolling.”
LATEST NEWS: Chael Sonnen calls common Khamzat Chimaev narrative ‘unfair’ ahead of UFC 319 title fightKhamzat Chimaev’s training partner ahead of UFC 319 believes he will be drastically better in a key areaWhen taking away some of his previous issues with remaining active in his career, the other big question mark hanging over Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 319 is his cardio.
The only times that ‘Borz’ has been tested inside the Octagon are when he was unable to put opponents away early, with some believing that this will be key to Dricus du Plessis’ success.
Arman Tsarukyan, who has been training with Chimaev ahead of August 16, explained in an interview with Kamil Gadzhiev that improving the challenger’s cardio has been a big part of their preparations.
“In this camp, Khamzat has improved his recovery ability, and strength and conditioning,” Tsarukyan said (translated by Red Corner MMA).
“So I believe in this upcoming fight, his cardio must be very good,” Tsarukyan added. “He’s been tested (in that area) every day. His recovery ability, there’s a device that shows his recovery stats every morning right after he gets up.”
