I think UFC should add a clause of "having minimum wrestling or grappling skills of black belt" in contract when they sign fighters. Wrestling gives to much advantage in the fight. Otherwise the sports turns from mix martial arts into "try to beat wrestler with your other fighting style".
From the interview I have also found out that Colby Covington was offered 4 times to fight Chimaev, and he had refused all offers. Chimaev dreams to have UFC tournament in Sweden, in his second home. He said that UFC had only 1 tournament in Sweden, he wants it back.
Remember when he announced his retirement? It turned out he has covid-19, but one of the doctors gave him false diagnose - lung cancer. Because Chimaev was coughing with blood and on xray there were some strange black dots. Switching to different doctor helped. Remember his fight against Li Jingliang? How dominant he was, how he put Li up and went to Danas side of the octagon
? Before that fight he had only 1 month of training, after a year of being sick. He said he was in a rush in that fight, because he was loosing stamina quick. Several months before the fight, he had dyspnea even after passing several floors.
I didn't know he got health issues like that I thought that he has just had Covid-19, with that really scary lung cancer I really didn't know it, but maybe the serious issue with his health he was talking about might be real, the one were he was stopped in cutting weight by his doctor, man I mean that is some serious thing and he doesn't want to discuss it, for some reason, but I really wish him well, for him to be used by the UFC in wanting to be on top, with something so serious like that man I will also do everything I can to really take it, and that fight with Li Jingliang surely skyrocket his career so much though,
Burns is like what one of the best submission artists in the UFC, and he's probably more rounded than Chimaev himself. I wouldn't be so confident that Chimaev would win the rematch. I think it needs to happen, just because that first fight was so close. Burns throwing up submissions attempts while Chimaev has him stacked, then Chimaev doesn't even go back to the ground. You can call it ego if you want, but early in that fight you could see that he was trying to get Burns on the mat. That's is until he found out it wasn't going to be easy. Then, they go to the stand up, and Burns drops him nearly knocking him out.
I honestly, had Burns up in that fight, and I think a lot of other people would've too. I'm not saying it was a robbery because it was a close fight, and obviously I'm not saying that Chimaev isn't the better fighter, since it was a close fight. I just don't like how underestimated Burns is. He legitimately could be the champion.
I agree with you brother, seeing how Khamzat Chimaev struggle so much in that fight I see Kevin Holland struggle aswell with Gilbert Burns when they fight, and I think if Gilbert Burns could be given a chance I think he can also be a double belt champion aswell, he surely got the skill and heart, and Khamzat Chimaev really underestimated Gilbert Burns here and that ego of his kick in, even though his coach or his corner was pretty much mad for not doing the path of the way to victory and giving his all in the 1st round it nearly cost him a lost, and now I also want to see a rematch against this two aswell, and Paolo Costa too,