When Khamzat Chimaev, the middleweight champion, steps into the Octagon, everyone knows what’s coming. The wrestling, the pressure, and the inevitable takedown. And that predictability is exactly what Joaquin Buckley decided to poke at this week.

In a sport where trash talk usually promises knockouts, Buckley offered something different: a wager. Fifty thousand dollars and one simple condition. Could Chimaev go one round without being who he’s always been?

The challenge arrived via a viral video shared by Championship Rounds on X. The clip opens with Chimaev working the pads, firing crisp punches, before cutting sharply to Buckley standing in front of an ATM, grinning.

The setup felt deliberate. The message, even more so. Buckley didn’t waste time, “Man, all that striking you doing right there, man, just to shoot in the first five seconds of the fight is crazy work. So look, Khamzat , this is what I’m gonna do for you.”

Then came the hook, “If you’re able to stay on your feet for one round, just on your feet, and not use your wrestling, I’ll you $50,000. Oh, you heard me right, $50,000. And in your country, Rubles, that’s about three million, so you know that’s good money for y’all.”

Buckley even tried to up the ante, calling on potential middleweight title challenger Nassourdine Imavov to match it. “That means that’s 100,000.”

The challenge wasn’t subtle. Buckley framed Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling as a crutch, daring him to prove otherwise. “So Khamzat, take that money or still show that you a punk, by using that wrestling man in the first five seconds.” To sell it, he gestured toward the ATM. “Matter of fact I’m at the ATM right now man. I’m gonna go ahead and pull out some money.”

It was classic Buckley being loud, performative, and engineered for attention. But beneath the theatrics sat a familiar criticism that follows Chimaev everywhere. Can he dominate without leaning on his grappling? History suggests he doesn’t need to answer that question. At UFC 319, he didn’t just beat Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title. He erased him. The wrestling-heavy approach flattened the former champion and left little doubt about who controlled the fight.

That’s the part Buckley seems to ignore. MMA isn’t just a striking contest. It’s a test of range, skill, and strategy. Asking ‘Borz’ to abandon wrestling is like asking a sprinter to jog because running too fast feels unfair.

So will Khamzat Chimaev respond? Probably not. He’s chasing belts, not bets. As per recent reports, his future points toward a title defense, a move up to 205 lbs, and potentially a clash with Alex Pereira. And according to Joe Rogan, he might shock the world in that division too!

Joe Rogan claims “Olympic-caliber” wrestling is the only answer to Khamzat Chimaev’s dominance

As talk swirls around Buckley’s challenge and Chimaev’s next move, Rogan shifted the conversation in a different direction entirely. Not about bets. Not about bravado. About ceilings. Or more accurately, the lack of one. On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the longtime UFC commentator made it clear he doesn’t see a move to light heavyweight as some reckless leap. He sees it as a continuation.

“I think he can do it,” Rogan said of Chimaev competing at 205. But there was a condition. “I think he can do it if he takes time and puts weight on.”

That detail matters. Rogan wasn’t pitching a rushed jump. He was talking about a calculated transition, the kind that turns questions into problems for an entire division. Why the confidence? He circled back to the same theme that Joaquin Buckley tried to challenge, wrestling. Or more specifically, the gap between elite grappling and everyone else.

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According to the JRE host, “Because he’s tall and also the thing is these gaps in wrestling, these gaps in grappling, when a guy’s a really good grappler, and then you’re taking on Dricus, who’s really a striker. He’s a good grappler, a good jiu-jitsu guy, but there’s levels. The kind of guy like Khamzat, like man, you’ve got to be a f—  Olympic-caliber wrestler to scrap with that guy.”

That’s why Rogan’s take matters. Alex Pereira may carry nuclear striking and championship polish, but wrestling remains the unanswered question. And Chimaev keeps pointing in that direction, teasing one middleweight defense before heading north.

So when Joaquin Buckley asks him to stay on his feet for money, it almost feels beside the point. Why abandon the tool that could win you a second belt? Why prove something to fans when history rewards champions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!