"We are trying new things" - Khamzat Chimaev addresses team changes and reveals tactical adjustments for UFC 308 fight against Robert Whittaker
Khamzat Chimaev is nothing less than confident in his chances of beating Robert Whittaker at UFC 308. Ahead of his bout with 'The Reaper' this weekend, 'Borz' spoke to the MMA media and touted himself as the most dangerous fighter in the promotion, among other things.
Moreover, he claimed that his undefeated status is evidence of his inability to lose. Whittaker, meanwhile, has lost seven times across multiple divisions, with a record of 26-7. Despite Whittaker's otherwise exceptional run of form throughout his career, Chimaev does not believe his foe poses enough of a threat.
Furthermore, he believes that the changes he's made to his training camp have primed him to emerge victorious at UFC 308. He said:
"I have my old coaches still there. My coaches always will be my coaches, but just done this training camp and we are trying new things and we train with the guys that we train for six years. So, with professional wrestlers, with professional boxers, and I have my doctor on and my diets-around-me guy, who's checking my supplements, everything. I never had such a team around me. So, would be a difference in that."
Regarding Whittaker himself, Chimaev believes that none of the high-level wrestlers―like Yoel Romero―or high-level grapplers―like Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza―that 'The Reaper' has faced offer the same kind of threat he has. He added:
"MMA versus MMA is different. So, you can be Olympic champion, but if you get Olympic champion and me, MMA wrestling I could beat him easy. So this is different. So, I'm not just wrestler. People thinking about like I'm not just freestyle wrestler, no MMA wrestler. It's different."
Check out Khamzat Chimaev touching on his UFC 308 bout (3:15 and 4:25):
Chimaev is yet to lose in the octagon or overall in MMA, and he will carry the confidence of being unbeaten into his fight this weekend.
Khamzat Chimaev was previously scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia
While Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker will finally clash at UFC 308 this Saturday, the pair were previously targeted for a UFC on ABC 6 matchup back on June 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, the bout never took place.
Chimaev, as has often been the case, withdrew from the bout due to illness, and was replaced by former opponent Ikram Aliskerov, who went on to lose to Whittaker via first-round knockout.