Daniel Cormier sees Khamzat Chimaev as “the most scary contender”
In an interview with Damon Martin of MMAFighting, former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier discusses his thoughts on quick-rising welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev made his way to the UFC just 20 months ago and has gone on an absolute tear since.
In his UFC debut, Chimaev defeated John Phillips in the first minute of the second round. Ten days later, he defeated Rhys McKee in just over three minutes. He then knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds and submitted Li Jingliang, also in the first round.
Khamzat Chimaev (-500 ML) with the insane one punch KO (round 1 KO +400) over Gerald Meerschaert #UFCVegas11 pic.twitter.com/sC0eOh2s3B
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) September 20, 2020
KHAMZAT CHIMAEV SUBMITS LI JINGLIANG IN ROUND 1.#UFC267 #MMATwitter
pic.twitter.com/eG5EebcXnY— SportsGridRadio (@SportsGridRadio) October 30, 2021
During his UFC career, Chimaev has landed a total of 112 strikes, while only being hit once.
Clearly, the man is one of the most dominant contenders we have seen under the UFC banner, and former double-champion Daniel Cormier agrees.
In the interview with MMAFighting, Cormier tells Martin that Chimaev is “the scariest contender we have seen for a while.”
“I do believe he’s the most-scary contender we’ve had for a while because there’s just so many unknowns,” Cormier tells Martin.
He continues to say “every time he comes, he comes in, he dominates, he’s gone.”
The interview comes just six days out of Chimaevs return to the octagon in his UFC 273 matchup against Gilbert Burns.
Burns (20-4-0), is coming off of a unanimous decision win against Stephen Thompson at UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3. Ranked at 2nd in the welterweight division, Burns will be putting it all on the line against 11th ranked Chimaev.
The two will meet on April 9th in Jacksonville, Florida, where we will find out once and for all if Khamzat Chimaev is truly the scariest contender to grace the UFC.
Watch the full interview below:
