Khamzat Chimaev would be 'the underdog' in title fight with Kamaru Usman claims John McCarthy
John McCarthy believes that Khamzat Chimaev would be 'the underdog' if he ever gets to fight Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title.
In a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, hosts John McCarthy and Josh Thompson were seen discussing a variety of topics, including the upcoming UFC Vegas 51 fight between Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad and the Bellator 277 fight between AJ McKee and Patricio Pitbull.
During their conversation, the two also speculated on how a fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman would play out.
Giving his take on the potential fight, John McCarthy believes that it would not be easy for 'Borz' to destroy someone like Kamaru Usman.
Adding on to his statement, the former MMA referee said:
"I'm a huge Chimaev fan. I have been watching him before he was in the UFC, I've told people, this kid's gonna be fu*king really good. You're pushing him too far to think that he's gonna beat Usman. He's a good wrestler, so is Usman... So he has got to put it in his mind, 'Hey I fight smart, I don't fight to just destroy people. If I can, great. But I have got to fight smart because I just can't destroy everyone.' And you are not going to just destroy someone like Kamaru Usman. In fact, you're gonna be that underdog in that fight."
You can watch the entire episode of the Weighing In podcast below:
"I think Kamaru’s MMA wrestling is better than Khamzat’s."- Gilbert Burns predicts potential fight between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev
Gilbert Burns believes that if Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev ever square off, Kamaru Usman's wrestling skills will easily buy out Khamzat Chimaev. He also emphasized that Usman's experience will be decisive against Chimaev.
Giving his take on how a Chimaev-Usman fight would turn out, Burns said:
“The difference – as of right now for sure – after this war, that guy’s going to get better, I believe. I’m gonna get better; he’s [Chimaev’s] gonna get better. But the IQ of Kamaru Usman, if I’ve gotta answer that question right now, will be the difference. Kamaru is a very intelligent and tested fighter. He’s been in the wars, he’s been against the best guys around, and I think Kamaru’s MMA wrestling is better than Khamzat’s....I think Kamaru gets the win right now.”- Gilbert Burns told TMZSports.
Watch Gilbert Burns’ interview on TMZ Sports below: