What is Whittaker's path to victory?

[Shay Brennan]

Other than waiting for Chimaev to gas out?


For Chimaev, I would say that fighting like he did against Burns is the best path to victory.
Especially considering that Whittaker has been hurt in 8 of his 9 last fights and got dropped by a jab from DDP and Adesanya.
Borz has dropped Gilbert with a jab and GM3 with a cross.

He can use his wrestling too, but it would be better if he just took Robert down and controlled him without wasting too much energy while chasing the choke.

there's so man ways Chimaev can win compared to Robert.
Borz will have all the physical advanatages: Height, reach and is still in his prime.

As for the wrestling, Whittkaer has the best TDD in the MW division.
If DDP, Gastelum and Jacare can take him down then a much better and bigger wrestler like Chimaev can too.


Actually there is one are where Whittaker is dangerous and that is his high kick. He has a fighters arm with that before and scored knockouts agaisnt Jacare and Brunson.
Borz will have to be very careful when blocking that kick.

Anyway, this is a great fight and it will tell us a lot about where both fighters stand at MW.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Aim for the cleft lip with his index and/or middle knuckle

 

[Tatra]

I think Whittaker will be rocked in the first round, survive, then go on to dominate, possibly stop him in 4/5.

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

Pull a Khalib Starnes for the first 2 rounds and sap Khamzat's gas tank, and then pull a GSP-Koscheck for the last 3 rounds and jab his orbital bone to a UD victory

 

[RockyLockridge]

Have better cardio

 

[gilbert_mma]

Khamzat could barely take down a fairly low-level wrestler like Usman in his last fight. I don't see a pathway to victory here for Khamzat other than a fluke injure from Whittaker, looking at it objectively.

 

[Shay Brennan]

Have better cardio

If Chimaev decides to strike instead of wrestle, then Whittaker is done.

 

[nostradumbass]

Obvious answer is to stuff the early TD and punch him in the face repeatedly until he falls down. Khamzat either gets the TD and the finish in the 1st round or his chances of winning drop to just above 0.

 

[Roop Holstry]

It may be somewhat controversial but I think Whittaker needs to go out there and try to win if he wants to find success.

 

[arcadeperfect]

Do what he did against Jacare and Romero. Defend all TDD attempts and turn it into a stand up fight.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Don't get finished in rd 1 and then he'll have the fight in the bag from what I've seen. Khamzat looks amazing, until he doesn't.. Looked like he was going to dominate Usman easily until rd 2... Now he's in a 5 rder. He's only been tested in 2 fights and both those fights ended up being super close, every other fight he totally dominated.

 

[DatSamboKid]

This is Khamzat's first fight five round fight, so Robert should aim to weather the early onslaught and drag him into the later rounds. Managing the distance will be crucial, Whitaker really needs to establish his jab early.

 

[jx820]

Stay composed early and control the space well. Burns clipped Chimaev bad, and I'd wager Whittaker hits harder than that so testing his jaw is advisable. Chimaev hasn't had the striking to put Burns or Usman away and technically I'd favor Whittaker standing. Certainly riding out that first 5 minutes is going to important.

The tools at his disposal aren't hard to see, it's just easier said than done.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Knockout , Submission or Decision ?

 

[DOMMA]

Usman was better than Khamzat standing. it was proven in their fight.

Whittaker has better stand-up than Usman.

If Whittaker can stuff a few TDs, he can KO Khamzat standing.

 

[Ares Black]

I think he should try to win at least three of five rounds.

He could also try knocking him out.

Or possibly winning by submission.

 

[rjmbrd]

Khamzat has looked completely ordinary in his two ranked fights, both guys being welterweights, one on zero notice.

Whittaker is past his prime but this is a huge step up for Khamzat. I think he gets put away if he can't get an early stoppage.

 

[chardog]

I think Whittaker will be rocked in the first round, survive, then go on to dominate, possibly stop him in 4/5.

if he gets rocked, Khamzat will finish, if there's one thing khamzat does well, that's finishing hurt opponents.

 

[Tatra]

if he gets rocked, Khamzat will finish, if there's one thing khamzat does well, that's finishing hurt opponents.

He's a weight bully. He's finished no one at 185. Especially no one as talented as Bobby.

 

[10000yearsold]

Glad to see everyone pretty much gets the formula here for what will be Chimaev’s undoing unless he is able to patch his holes

Whitaker has to be defensively intelligent in the early goings while pushing the pace and conservatively counter striking.

The most practical ideal here for Whitaker is a tko stoppage or ko that could really happen any time for him, but is mostly likely to occur from the 3rd round on.

He needs to watch his anxiety to avoid a re-run of what he got himself into late fight with Romero.

Whitaker has advantages in boxing and his gas tank. It will be a precarious balance of aggression, wrestling avoidance and counter striking. While he will need to push the pace and pressure Chimaev, this will make avoiding being grabbed very difficult.

I do give the edge to Chimaev tho. His wrestling out matches Whittaker’s far greater than Whitaker out matches Chimaev’s stand up. If Chimaev is able to fix his health problems and add some power to his striking, Chimaev can easily rule this division and even make a case to threaten at 205. I don’t know how serious his health problems are. A five rounder should be telling.