Media Bragging Rights: Whittaker vs Chimaev - Who wins and how?

[WoozyFailGuy]

One of the hardest fights to pick in a very long time

Honestly, yes. Not a fight I'm betting on, true coin flip in my eyes.
Either Khamzat will catch robert early with a big punch and tko him on the ground, or Bobby weathers the storm and wins rounds 3,4, and 5.
Robert was only subbed once in 2011, so unless it's a huge punch into an arm triangle during the scramble, I don't see him getting subbed.

 

[Tweak896]

I think it's weird people think this is hard to predict. Assuming Khamzat is same guy, he finishes Rob within 3 rounds.

 

[svmr_db]

I think it's weird people think this is hard to predict. Assuming Khamzat is same guy, he finishes Rob within 3 rounds.

Shouldn't he have finished Gilbert Burns then? Not saying it can't happen but Chimaev hasn't finished any UFC opponent on Whittaker's level to this point.

 

[svmr_db]

Honestly, yes. Not a fight I'm betting on, true coin flip in my eyes.
Either Khamzat will catch robert early with a big punch and tko him on the ground, or Bobby weathers the storm and wins rounds 3,4, and 5.
Robert was only subbed once in 2011, so unless it's a huge punch into an arm triangle during the scramble, I don't see him getting subbed.

Well if you view the fight as a coin flip it is still worth betting on Whittaker considering you can get +200 ish on him.

 

[Tweak896]

Shouldn't he have finished Gilbert Burns then? Not saying it can't happen but Chimaev hasn't finished any UFC opponent on Whittaker's level to this point.

No because Khamzat would lose a kickboxing match to most guys. He has power and does well standing because most are anticipating takedowns. Burns is a case of removing his most powerful weapon.

I think Khamzat would do good against guys like Whittaker, DDP, Strickland, but then struggle like hell with Robocop.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Well if you view the fight as a coin flip it is still worth betting on Whittaker considering you can get +200 ish on him.

Yea, it's usually a good tactic, but Khamzat is such an unknown to me currently that I won't be surprised if he just steamrolls Bobby. Guy has been dealing with his only son being sick too, I don't like betting against fighters dealing with recent hardship, gives dudes a reason to grind

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

Whittaker via decision…

A very dominant decision.

 

[maximus__]

Whittaker by decision. He drops a round early and Abu Dhabi hgives an undeserved 10-8. Followed by Whittaker taking over the next 3-4 rounds.
Rob wins via split with Khamzat getting a controversial card he lost by some panic wrestling with no offence.

Think Usman but with another 2 rounds.

 

[joy2day]

3 round fight- Kham by decision.

5 round fight- Rob finishes him late in the fight.

Rob will have to survive the initial onslaught and not get finished when he's underneath Kham. He should do OK if he can do that, but I see Kham outpointing him with TDs in a 3 rounder. Much like the Usman fight.

 

[PeterGriffin]

I have already said in other threads I see a late 3rd round/early 4th round stoppage for Whittaker, and nothing I have seen since then really makes me reconsider that. A shopworn 36 year-old WW rolled off the couch in 10 days and took Khamzat to the final bell. If anything, the more I think about it, the more confident I become in my gut instinct.

Looking at Khamzat's resume, Robert is by far the most experienced fighter he's ever faced. My prediction is quite similar to @RockyLockridge 's but I am not convinced that Khamzat waits until the second round to blow his load. I suspect Khamzat blitzes hard and fast because the longer the fight goes, the more it works to Robert's advantage.

- Khamzat has never seen a single championship round. Robert's fought 10 of them against Romero, Till, Gastelum, and Adesanya.

- Robert is only 3 years older than Khamzat, but has been fighting the top who's who of MW for almost a decade now.

Khamzat is explosive, world-class grappler, he'a aggressive, strong... I get all that. Absolutely more dangerous than a puncher's chance. He seems settled in at 185 now, so he should be able to manage cuts easier and come into the cage feeling 100%. It would be awesome if Khamzat did live up to the hype of an absolute killer who fights a lot, that's a win-win for everyone, but there are levels to this and Khamzat's about to see that first hand.

Robert spent 50 minutes in a cage with Romero, I don't think Robert's panicking. His own wrestling is legit, and he is a BJJ black belt.

I just don't see Robert being dumb enough to get trapped in a wild firefight out of the gate or get caught moving in straight lines, and Robert does have decent fight IQ. The patient fighter will win this one.

If Rakic, Max and Robert play spoilers...

 

[Stump]

Borz rd 2 tko

I lobe Bobby Knuck but he's from a previous generation. He's been through many wars. All of the names on his resume who he had high level elite championship or top contender fights - many of them grueling wars- with are all gone or on the decline. He's on bottomed time


People are sleeping on borz. They are overcorrecting for the hype. Yes, keel everyone was over the top, but the real chimaev beneath that is still a certified killer with heavy hands.

 

[HNIC215]

Khamzat wins... just not sure how.

I chose submission but - KO/TKO, Submission and Decision - are all reasonable outcomes.

I appreciate Rob, but Khamzat is on a different level.

 

[Steve Fox]

Chimaev is not striking. Rob doesn't manage distance well, neither he is a lanky fighter. Would love Rob to win but I can see Chimaev wrestlefucking him to a decision, late submission. There will be one or two exciting moments from Rob that will bring hope to the fans that the tide is turning but Khamzat will just dive right in.

 

[cshireman4]

I hope I'm wrong, but I took Bobby in a late stoppage. Similar to the fight with Burns and Usman, but a different end result. Surprised by the lack of Khamzat by submission votes though

 

[NoSmilez]

Khamzat by blowout or he wins a sketchy decision.

 

[PeterGriffin]

Khamzat by blowout or he wins a sketchy decision.

Pretty sure if this fight goes to a decision, Rob won't like the end result no matter how well anyone thinks he did.

 

[flektarn]

Bobby late stoppage imo. Only been submitted once, hard to hold down, and khamzat's striking isn't on his level nor are his submissions elite now that he's facing better talent.

 

[ThaiSexPills]

Khamzat by a decision that makes a lot of people mad. There’ll be “Rob got robbed” posts 2 minutes after it’s announced.

 

[NoSmilez]

Pretty sure if this fight goes to a decision, Rob won't like the end result no matter how well anyone thinks he did.

Khamzat's style will also influence the decision. He is a front runner so I am assuming he will win the 1st. Judges might give him 10-8 rounds. Those type of rounds are hard to come back from.

 

[Larzon]

If Rob can take this past round 2 he'll finish him