Henry Cejudo Blames Himself & the Rest of the MMA Community for Khamzat Chimaev Performance at UFC 273

Khamzat Chimaev kept his undefeated record and beat Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. However, the bout proved to be the toughest test of Chimaev’s UFC career. In an unusual ‘Borz’ contest, an early ‘Fight of the Year’ contender, Chimaev edged a razor-close decision.

Chimaev appeared to slow down in the later rounds; the reason being he wanted to knock out the # 2 welterweight and put on a definitive performance and a highlight finish. Thus, the undefeated fighter took some unnecessary risks and the crafty Brazilian paid him for his mistakes and nearly took away the fight.

Former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo broke down Chimaev’s performance and mentality before and during the fight.

‘Triple C‘ said, “You really can’t make it like that if you’re going to have a close fight… Chimaev is giving the wrong…, he thinks he is walking on the water a little too much.”

However, Cejudo suggested the reason for Chimaev’s mindset, “That’s partially probably our fault, my fault everybody’s fault, because we kind of put him on a pedestal where he really hasn’t proved anything. And once, he fought a top contender man. A lot of people gave that fight to Gilbert Burns. He could’ve lost that thing.”

Chimaev had only observed one significant strike in the UFC prior to this fight. Consequently, he showed his dominance and wanted to do the same against a high-caliber opponent and a big match at a massive PPV, UFC 273.

Read More: How Did Khamzat Chimaev Bust His Lips? All You Need to Know About the UFC Fighter’s Lip Scar

Cejudo had even claimed that Chimaev would have an easy night with the middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Thus, statements like these are what Triple C is trying to take back.

Can Khamzat Chimaev beat Colby Covington?

Khamzat Chimaev’s next bout will be, perhaps, against the two-time title challenger, Colby Covington. UFC President Dana White, before the fight, had suggested that he would like the top grappling heavy welterweight to go against each other (if Chimaev wins).

‘Chaos‘ has proved in his two fights against Kamaru Usman that he could easily lead the welterweight division. The margin between him and the champion is very narrow.

Chimaev vs. Covington would be a massive fight in terms of numbers for the UFC, as these two know how to engage with fans. Thus, this fight has the potential to be a five, five minutes round. After seeing Chimaev slowing down against Burns, Covington would fancy his chances against ‘Borz’ in a five-rounder.

Both men have phenomenal wrestling; however, superior striking could be a decisive factor in the fight. Overall, Chimaev is still young and has a lot of time to catch up to the welterweight top.

It would be interesting to see if White still books Covington-Chimaev bout, or he has something else planned for ‘Borz.

WATCH THIS STORY – Five Times Khamzat Chimaev Obliterated His Opponents In His MMA Career