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Chimaev dilema: play guard or expose the back

Human Bass

Human Bass

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It seems his opponents prefer the 2nd option since Khamzat is seen more as a wrestler than a submission grappler.

But as we all know, he blends both approaches really well and doesnt hesitate to squeeze a neck.

Then the other option after the td is to play guard in hope to buy time and even hunt for a submission. But Chimaev doesnt sit in closed guard, he at least tries to establish half guard to rain gnp.

Kamaru was the one who did the best at surviving in both cases, but ended up losing 2 rounds for that. Burns used a very active guard, but that fight was too long ago be meaningful by today.

Right now I believe his chokes and riding skills are more dangerous, but yeah, very few are willing to play bottom against him instead of trying to get up as soon as possible.
 
Human Bass said:
In a 5 round fight where people believe Chimaev has a bad gas tank it can be doable. Of course Im not talking about pulling guard, but going for it instead of back exposure
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Oh absolutely. There are most definitely circumstances where it can still be effective. Just never likely gonna be a Plan A.
 
Playing guard in pro MMA is crazy unless ur a purple belt or something lol
 
agreed, you’re better of maintaining guard and losing the round

if you can’t defend his takedowns survive the early rounds at all cost and hope he gets tired. usman likely would have won in a 5 round fight. tired of seeing guys panic and give up their back so early in the fight while khamzat is still fresh

obviously you don’t wanna be on your back, If you’re forced to be there, better to hold guard than give up your back and choked tf out
 
Or at least don't go down to your knees while sprawling, leaving yourself defenseless against the push-through
 
Just rewatched his fights thinking the same thing. If you give your back you're fucked, so maybe, since he is going to take you down, try to stay in the middle of the octagon and play guard hoping to survive and get him tired or discourage him to play the ground game since he's not advancing.

His fight with Burns was weird. He chose to be a striker in that one. Was he just being cautious because of Burns jiu jitsu?

Chimaev comes so strong that the first minutes are a mess, and if his opponent just scramble for his life instead of trying to be more composed, Chimaev will get their back/neck. (Whittaker, Holland, Li, Phillips)

Like you have to at least try to slow him down a bit and not get dragged into a high pace crazy scramble.

Of course, easier said than done...
 
Ozze said:
His fight with Burns was weird. He chose to be a striker in that one. Was he just being cautious because of Burns jiu jitsu?
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The game plan from his team in that fight was to avoid the ground, because Burns is so extremely decorated at BJJ. Khamzats bjj coach has faced him in competitions before.

Interestingly enough, in round 3 vs Burns Khamzat was the fresher fighter, because there wasn't as much wrestling in that fight.

Regarding the "stay in his guard and chill", I don't think he's just letting the opponent do that. He's always working hard on gnp or submission or improving his position, which in turn forces his opponent to work just as hard trying to defend.

If your opponent sprints, you can't jog. That's the dilemma about trying to exploit his tendency to slow down.

That's what I like so much about watching fighters like Khamzat and DDP. They are not looking to win on points, they are always looking for the finish.
 
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animepro said:
agreed, you’re better of maintaining guard and losing the round

if you can’t defend his takedowns survive the early rounds at all cost and hope he gets tired. usman likely would have won in a 5 round fight. tired of seeing guys panic and give up their back so early in the fight while khamzat is still fresh

obviously you don’t wanna be on your back, If you’re forced to be there, better to hold guard than give up your back and choked tf out
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If someone invites Chimaev into their guard he will go for D´arce or Arm Triangle choke he will look for these 2 submission interchangingable. Most likely he will look for specifically arm triangle choke but if the opponent tries to roll then he will switch to going for D´arce choke.

From half guard he can secure an arm trianngle choke
 
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If he's pounding on you from the guard or otherwise, he ain't getting tired. The trick is to keep it standing. Good luck with that
 
Give him a fist bump at the hotel days before the fight & start coughing on him
 
188912345 said:
The game plan from his team in that fight was to avoid the ground, because Burns is so extremely decorated at BJJ. Khamzats bjj coach has faced him in competitions before.

Interestingly enough, in round 3 vs Burns Khamzat was the fresher fighter, because there wasn't as much wrestling in that fight.
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If the only way to avoid his ground game is to be an ace in bjj, the middleweight division is pretty much fucked and he will reign for long.

Unless DDP can stop him through sheer strength.
 
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