"This is what he did to Robert Whittaker" - UFC legend breaks down Khamzat Chimaev's domination over Arman Tsarukyan in wrestling match
Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan engaged in a widely circulated grappling contest, with some comparisons being drawn to the techniques Chimaev utilized in his fight against Robert Whittaker. The comparisons in question were drawn by an MMA legend who has previously held UFC gold and is one of the sharpest analytical minds in the game today.
Demetrious Johnson broke down the nuances of Chimaev's grappling methodology, which the former flyweight champion saw in 'Borz's' mixed martial arts bout against Whittaker and the grappling performance against Tsarukyan.
On his personal YouTube channel Mighty, Johnson got into the minutia of what he saw in the surging middleweight's application of technique as 'Mighty Mouse' watched the Tsarukyan grappling competition and broke it down in real-time. When breaking down the parallels between Chimaev's efforts against Whittaker and Tsarukyan, Johnson said:
"See, Khamzat does such a good job at doing this. Khamzat's on top. He does a good job. Like this is what he did to Robert Whittaker. This is what he does to everybody he fights... Like he gets your hands busy and puts all your weight on your hands, right. So he's driving."
Check out Demetrious Johnson's analysis of the Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan grappling footage (3:51):
Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan's grappling match: The latter responds
Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan's grappling contest caught the attention of many and the talented lightweight has offered up his thoughts on wrestling the surging middleweight contender. Tsarukyan faced off with the 30-year-old while he was a guest on a Russian version of 'The Ultimate Fighter', known as 'Hardcore Reality Fighting Show'.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Tsarukyan discussed the grappling encounter with 'Borz', and was complimentary of the dominant mixed martial artist. He described Chimaev as tough, strong, and big but playfully mentioned how it was a submission-only match.
The next challenger to the lightweight crown, at UFC 311 in January, stated that he was focused on not giving Chimaev the submission and working to a draw. Tsarukyan was transparent though in saying that if things like takedowns and control were scored, Khamzat Chimaev ultimately had more instances of both.
To wrap up his thoughts on the grappling encounter, Tsarukyan said:
"Yeah he's tough. He's really tough. I thought he knew wrestling but not like this."
The native of Russia also mentioned in an episode of the 'HRF' show that he acknowledged the difference of multiple weight divisions between himself and Tsarukyan. In an excerpt of when he articulated his thoughts on the grappling matchup, Chimaev stated:
"It was a surprise for me that Arman agreed to fight me on camera. I was sure that I would win and it happened."