Who is the worst possible matchup for Chimaev at MW?

[Shay Brennan]

Whittaker has the best TDD in the top 5.
He's also got better kicks and footwork and probably gas tank too.

He's got worse chin, toughness and wrestling.

I'm unsure of boxing, power and speed.

DDP, Cannonier and Strickland have bad TDD. Well, maybe not bad, but certainly not good enough in this matchup.

So yeah, it has to be between Whittaker and Adesanya?

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Whittaker, Vettori, Adesanya, Costa. All have strong TDD, good cardio and are hard to finish.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Whittaker is pretty fucking tough. Just chinny. And Kham doesn't have killshot KO power.

 

[Mammothman]

Weidman

 

[fortheo]

I think DDP would be a nightmare to hold down for significant periods of time, and he'd bull doze khamzat on the feet.

 

[Shay Brennan]

Whittaker, Vettori, Adesanya, Costa. All have strong TDD, good cardio and are hard to finish.

Vettori doesn't have that good of a TDD. It's 69%
He got taken down by Cannonier 4 times.

But he is the toughest MW out there based on the strikes he absorbed to the body against Costa and head strikes he absorbed against Cannonier.

So yeah, I could see him surviving the first few rounds and winning the rest of the fight.

 

[Herwald]

Could be anyone in the TOP 10, as we haven't seen Khamzat vs anyone legit at MW. But Vettori and Costa seem like they'd be problematic. Sturdy fuckers that are hard to rag doll.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Vettori doesn't have that good of a TDD. It's 69%
He got taken down by Cannonier 4 times.

But he is the toughest MW out there based on the strikes he absorbed to the body against Costa and head strikes he absorbed against Cannonier.

So yeah, I could see him surviving the first few rounds and winning the rest of the fight.

69% is still good and he has never been finished and has better cardio than anyone else I listed. That plus Khamzat's poor cardio makes him a tough style match up especially if we are talking 5 round fights.

 

[FlowchartRog]

I think DDP would be a nightmare to hold down for significant periods of time, and he'd bull doze khamzat on the feet.

Yeah, would have to be DDP.

 

[laleggenda27]

Not sure how you came to the conclusion that Whittaker has "worse" chin and toughness.

In any event, Whittaker seems like the worst matchup for Khamzat. Whittaker obviously has good TDD, and his striking is MUCH more nuanced than Khamzat. If it stays on the feet, expect Khamzat to be very confused (and probably frustrated) by Whittaker's distance management and striking.

If Khamzat doesn't find a finish in the first round (which, of course, is possible), I expect Whittaker to win and make it look easy.

I also think a number of other MWs would give Khamzat major problems.

 

[chinarice]

Whittaker is pretty fucking tough. Just chinny. And Kham doesn't have killshot KO power.

If you don't count the guys he has KO'ed with 1 punch, he doesn't have KO power

 

[Alpha_T83]

Marvin Vettori would be tough. I also think DDP is a nightmare matchup for him. DDP wins the striking hands down, and I'm not sure Khamzat can wrestlefuck DDP.

 

[Koala]

Adesanya
Chimaev's main weakness is distance management and Adesanya is elite at distance management

 

[dipstickjimmy]

Whittaker...

He's got worse chin, toughness and wrestling.

Whittaker is pretty fucking tough. Just chinny. And Kham doesn't have killshot KO power.

Where did this myth that Bobby Knuckles is chinny come from?
One loss by TKO 10 years ago to a striking specialist, One KO loss to another striking specialist 5 years ago and one TKO to a big strong Donkey Kong in DDP last year.

Some people act like he is Chuck Liddell getting KO'd in the stand up by Tito Ortiz.

 

[andgonsil]

Michel Pereira

 

[TheBulge]

I actually thought it was Usman and he already won that fight.

 

[TheBulge]

Where did this myth that Bobby Knuckles is chinny come from?
One loss by TKO 10 years ago to a striking specialist, One KO loss to another striking specialist 5 years ago and one TKO to a big strong Donkey Kong in DDP last year.

Some people act like he is Chuck Liddell getting KO'd in the stand up by Tito Ortiz.

Heart is not the same as chin.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

No One

 

[Istryker]

The answer for me has and always will be Vettori. I think he survives the first round and makes it a ugly gritty UD or even weird TKO.


Izzy is 2nd due to his high level striking but I think he's aged and he's a bit inactive now.

This fight with Bobby tells us A LOT no more excuses.

 

[1BadMF]

I think DDP and Strickland are more well-rounded and strong enough to take out Chimaev. I also think Alex would've KO'd Chimaev quickly.