"You shouldn't get sucked into these mind games" - Khamzat Chimaev's coach highlights his "main concern" ahead of UFC 279 fight against Nate Diaz
Khamzat Chimaev fights Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279 on September 10 and not many are giving Diaz much of a chance of beating the dominant Chechen. One wild card in the fight, though, will be Chimaev's ability to stick to a gameplan in the face of Diaz's in-cage taunting.
According to Chimaev's coach Andreas Michael, 'Borz' had a much harder fight than necessary against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 because he lost his cool and engaged in a slugfest. That's Michael's biggest concern coming into Chimaev's fight against Diaz. In a new interview with The Mac Life, Michael said:
"My main concern is that he doesn't get sucked into this 'Who's the toughest? Who's the baddest guy on the streets?' And who's this and who's that. Just win your fights. That's the toughest guy, the guy that wins their fights. That's the toughest guy, I think. You shouldn't get sucked into these mind games, because these guys are young stallions. They want to show, and you got to keep them grounded, gotta say 'I want us to win in the best, simplest way possible, however that is, I don't care.' I just think if he does what he does every day in the gym, this is going to be an easy fight."
Watch Andreas Michael discuss Khamzat Chimaev's upcoming fight against Nate Diaz below:
Video: Andreas Michael scream at Khamzat Chimaev during UFC 273 for abandoning gameplan
While Khamzat Chimaev emerged from his fight against Gilbert Burns victorious, it was a close thing. Judges scored the fight 29-28, with the bout coming down to an extremely tight third round.
Leading into that final stanza, Chimaev's coach Andreas Michael screamed at his student in the corner, frustrated that he wasn't following instructions.
Khamzat's coach snapped in between rounds...asked him not to brawl but stick to the game plan. https://t.co/4lX17y1Rcb
Following the event, Michael addressed the situation on social media, writing:
“People ask me what I told Khamzat Chimaev at the end of round 2. This is what I told him: ‘stop brawling stop having a street fight use your straight punches and keep it easy, this is an easy fight if you don’t brawl. All you have to do is keep him on your jab and have patience. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.’"
Chimaev ended up getting sucked back into a brawl in round three, much to the excitement of fans in the arena. While he won in the end, it raises questions as to whether 'Borz' can resist throwing caution to the wind and engaging in another wild performance against Diaz.
Trash talk? Who needs trash talk? @NateDiaz209 doesn't – unless that's how it's gotta be.
"Either way is fine."
#UFC244 https://t.co/QpdxJlsh6B