Khamzat Chimaev is currently training at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket. He is expected to face Gilbert Burns yet although that fight has yet to be officially confirmed.
The undefeated Swedish welterweight recently told RT.com that there was just one problem facing him in Phuket,
“Here at Tiger I’ve had some sparring sessions and the guys don’t want to spar me again.”
Different approach
It sounds like there might be a good reason for that. Chimaev went on to outline his approach to sparring,
“I have a different approach, when I spar I do it in the tough way. Look at all the great boxers, they never had light sparring. And also today the world’s best boxers just put on headgear and spar hard.”
According to Chimaev the only sparring partners who can handle his power are competing at least two weight classes above him,
“For the most part I still work with heavyweight and 205lbers. I don’t want to speak highly of myself, but I have heavy hands so some guys don’t want to spar with me. My approach doesn’t suit some fighters, that’s why I prefer to work with heavier guys”
Every aspect
Most fighters travel to Tiger Muay Thai to sharpen up their striking skills. But Chimaev says he has been working on every aspect of his game in Phuket,
“No secrets here. I am working on every aspect of the game as usual. A lot of padwork, knees, elbows, kicks. I haven’t got a chance to show my striking ability a lot so far, but I am working hard in this respect. Soon you will see my standup. And wrestling too.”
At UFC 267 he needed less than four minutes to finish Jingliang Li. Every single one of Chimaev’s ten wins has come inside the opening two rounds and he wants more of a challenge,
“Hopefully someone will give me a decent fight. Unfortunately, nobody has done so in the UFC yet. We will see…”
