K, Chimaev defeated G. Durinho in the UFC 273 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)
Last Saturday (9), at UFC 273, Khamzat Shimaev derrotou Gilbert Durinho in a memorable fight, considered by Dana White as one of the best ever seen in the organization. Despite maintaining an unbeaten record in his career, the Russian-born Swede had some weaknesses, previously unknown, exposed by the Brazilian throughout the 15 minutes of the duel. For Michael Bisping, former UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9 kg), this could help the “Wolf” come back even stronger in his next appearance.
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On his official YouTube channel, Michael Bisping praised the duel between Chimaev and Durinho and stated that the “struggle” experienced by the Swede to win could help him develop and evolve as an MMA fighter.
“It was absolutely fantastic. I don't think there's anyone who didn't like that fight and I think for Khamzat (Chimaev) it was a great fight for his development and evolution as a fighter. Khamzat will learn and grow from that, because he came into the fight with overconfidence. I'm not saying he didn't take it seriously, or was complacent in training, but I think he went in expecting to run over Gilbert Burns (…), but Gilbert Burns went there to fight”, analyzed Bisping.
Michael Bisping opined that, if he opted for a slightly more strategic approach, Khamzat Shimaev would have achieved a more relaxed victory over Gilbert Durinho.
“Khamzat will learn that he’s not always going to go in there and dominate people like he thinks he will. He thought he was going to run over and he didn't have a clear game plan. Khamzat is much bigger, much longer, has longer arms, greater reach. He could have given Gilbert a tougher fight if he had a little strategy, but he didn't. He just walked forward, stayed in range, discarded his wingspan advantage and threw punches. In a fight like this, anyone can win. Gilbert Burns is extremely powerful, so this isn't the smartest idea. I think he will learn from this and come back even better”, said the Briton.
With the victory over Gilbert Durinho, second in the welterweight rankings, Khamzat Shimaev has an open path to face Colby covington, number 1 challenger in the division. In Bisping's opinion, “Lobo” would be a favorite for the duel, which is in the UFC's plans.
“I probably tend to bet on Khamzat, which might sound crazy, but I think Khamzat's wrestling would nullify Colby's wrestling. If you take wrestling out of the game, let's move on to striking. Khamzat has more power. Colby has more volume. I think Colby would have an advantage in gas, in conditioning. In experience too. But wrestling and power are with Khamzat. Let’s see,” he concluded.
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