Khamzat Chimaev lost more than his middleweight title this past weekend, he lost his aura. At least, so says Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal.
On Saturday, Chimaev suffered the first defeat of his MMA career, dropping a split decision to Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328. While Chimaev had tough fights before, this was the first time he ever actually lost, and Poirier believes that’s going to make his return fight all the more difficult because people won’t have the same fear when facing
him as before.
“The next fight, whoever he gets matched up with, it’s going to be tough for him to intimidate because his aura took a hit this week,” Poirier said on UFC on Paramount+ Recap show. “With the back and forth, I thought it was real. His whole aura took a hit this week.
“Putting the belt on Sean, come on, man.”
Masvidal took things one step further. While Poirier thinks Chimaev lost his air of invincibility, Masvidal believes Chimaev’s poor performance on Saturday revealed a deeper truth: that Chimaev was never that good to begin with.
“He wasn’t the same guy, either, when he fought [Kamaru] Usman,” Masvidal said. “You could see he had signs of breaking. Same thing with Gilbert [Burns]. It didn’t go his way, he had to stand up with him.
“Like a frontrunner? You think he’s a frontrunner?” Poirier asked.
“I’ve always thought he’s a front-runner,” Masivdal said. “And the Usman fight more than anything. I literally saw Usman like a day or two before he accepted the fight. The man was not training; he was not in tip-top shape. 11 days later, he gets this fight against a guy who has been training, getting ready for somebody else. Me, in my mind, that’s always a big, ‘Damn, I have to cut X, Y, Z pounds, I haven’t been training.’ The pressure’s on me, and it’s not at the same time. The way that he fought Usman, just because Usman could wrestle back, I knew this guy’s a frontrunner.”
And according to Masvidal, that’s not something that’s going to get better. Because for all the success Chimaev has had in his career, “Gamebred” doesn’t believe Chimaev can compete with fighters who he can’t simply overpower.
“I think whether this guy is at the garage, or LA Fitness, or the greatest trainer, Mike Brown, is training him, that guy is always going to have those problems because he’s not comfortable in the fight,” Masvidal said. “I don’t give a f*ck what he does, I don’t care how many hyperbaric chambers he owns, if he can’t take a guy down and immediately decimate him, he has to stand back up with a guy, or actually guy that can always wrestle back into him, it’s always going to be a nightmare. You get him back in there with Usman again, I think Usman finishes him.”
TOP STORIES
209. Nate Diaz still planning Conor McGregor trilogy but not as part of his comeback plans, rips Dustin Poirier.
Smart. Dana White: ‘I highly doubt we have a new and improved Sean Strickland’ after UFC 328.
Emotions. Justin Gaethje reacts to Ilia Topuria ‘emotional’ beef with Josh Hokit: ‘You can’t let another man control you like that.’
Jaw. Jake Paul not sure when or if he’ll be able to fight again, doctor advised him against it after suffering broken jaw.
Injury. Yaroslav Amosov reveals injury suffered two weeks before UFC 328 win over Joel Alvarez.
Do it. Jim Miller pitches Conor McGregor as a future opponent: ‘I hear there’s an Irishman looking for a fight.’
And New. UFC 328 Report: What exactly happened between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev?
VIDEO STEW
Arnold Allen fight week.
Volkanovski and Korean Zombie chopping it up.
Cooking with Volk.
Ilia Topuria as a rookie.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
Fighter vs. Writer.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Genuinely good advice.
Fight to make.
These two are going to fight eventually.
What a legend.
Respect.
New fight kits.
Oof.
What is Merab doing?
OK then.
FEED ME MORE
Way Too Soon
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think the truth probably lies somewhere in between Poirier and Masvidal. Chimaev’s aura definitely took a hit, but if he goes and runs over his next opponent, it’s right back. And Masvidal isn’t giving Chimaev enough credit for competing when his Plan A doesn’t work, but he’s also right that the gulf between Chimaev’s Plan A and Plan B is vast, making him much better as a hammer than a nail.
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