"That's just not what MMA and training is about" - Chael Sonnen says Khamzat Chimaev won't be any better next year
Chael Sonnen appears skeptical about Khamzat Chimaev's future.
Prior to his successful outing against Gilbert Burns, Khamzat Chimaev made news with his training sessions. The fighter was seen training quite hard on his technical skills in wrestling and boxing.
However, in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, former UFC contender Chael Sonnen talked about Chimaev's training. He stated that MMA and training are about getting in shape and improving on previously acquired skills and tactics.
As a result, the UFC Hall of Famer believes that training alone will not help Chimaev and will definitely not make him any better.
Giving his take on Chimaev, 'The Bad Guy' said:
"Chimaev was moving around very well included, at the end of the fight, when we all knew he was exhausted... Chimaev could have gone longer. And then you look at the offensive part was he landing? Hell yeah, he was landing over... he landed plenty . So I don't know quite where that concept came from."
He added:
"But I'll share for you if you believe that's true and you think you're gonna see him in a year from now, he gonna look a lot better. He's not... That's not what MMA and training is about. It's about getting in shape, truly. So that you can push harder than your opponent and you sprinkle in some of the skills."
You can check out the recent episode of Chael Sonnen's Beyond the Fight, below:
Chael Sonnen talks about a potential Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight
Jon Jones has been planning to fight in the heavyweight division upon his return to the octagon. Following this, rumors have also surfaced that Stipe Miocic has been offered a contract to fight Jones.
Sharing his thoughts on the rumored matchup, Chael Sonnen seemed extremely delighted about the possibility of the potential match. He said:
"Jon going up to heavyweight, I love this experiment. And I'm still into it. I don't care if that [betting] line is almost three to one. Jon just might go run through everybody. I am well aware of that. He might. But he might not. And we have some reasons why possibly and logically we can get a different result than we've had before."
He added:
"New weight class. Couple years off. Bigger guys. More power. Harder to deal with. They can take more shots, right? There's a couple of boxes you can check there and Stipe is a very rare athlete. That is a fantastic match. That is a very compelling match. Even if one of them goes and steamrolls the other one, that's fine. We are going to have what we call anticipation."
Watch the full video from Chael Sonnen discussing Jones vs. Miocic below: