"When you're hungry, you fight crazy" - Khamzat Chimaev believes Israel Adesanya's fighting style has changed due to reduced hunger
Khamzat Chimaev has suggested that Israel Adesanya’s fighting style has changed because he isn’t as hungry of a competitor as before his title reign.
Chimaev seemingly believes that ‘The Last Stylebender’, who’s defended the undisputed UFC middleweight title five times since obtaining it in October 2019, chooses to rack up points on the judges’ scorecards rather than finish fights.
Israel Adesanya is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier, whom he defeated at UFC 276 on July 2. The UFC middleweight title bout featured negligible action on the part of both fighters. The Cannonier matchup marked ‘Izzy’s’ third consecutive decision victory.
Israel Adesanya’s detractors have accused the striking savant of playing it safe and hanging on to his title rather than knocking out opponents like he has done in the past. In the latest edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Khamzat Chimaev was asked for his take on Adesanya’s performance against Cannonier. ‘Borz’ replied by stating:
“He’s doing his job. He makes his money. Now, he’s the champ. You don’t need to do the crazy things just to win... I don’t know what’s happening with him last time. He fights better before. Now, maybe he’s not that hungry. He’s driving crazy cars.”
Chimaev added:
“He has a lot of money. And it makes some people change. When you’re hungry, you fight crazy like he did before. And now, I don’t know. He just make the points and win the fights. It’s boring.”
Watch Chimaev discuss the topic at 13:02 in the video below:
Khamzat Chimaev teases a future UFC middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya
Following Israel Adesanya’s win over Jared Cannonier earlier this month, Khamzat Chimaev posted a tweet wherein he hinted at a potential future middleweight title matchup against ‘Izzy’. Chimaev’s tweet included images of himself and Adesanya, with the latter having the middleweight belt on his shoulder.
https://t.co/96JT26ixUV
‘Borz’ boasts an undefeated MMA record and has competed at both welterweight and middleweight. Presently, Chimaev is scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a five-round welterweight matchup that’ll headline UFC 279 on September 10.
Chimaev has consistently maintained that he’d like to capture the UFC welterweight title before moving up to pursue middleweight gold. The welterweight belt is currently held by Kamaru Usman, who’ll be defending it against Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on August 20.
Ergo, the consensus is that Khamzat Chimaev won’t be fighting Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Adesanya is expected to defend his middleweight title against longtime rival Alex Pereira.
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