Khamzat is a wrestler

Would Khamzat be a D1 wrestler TS? Think we can agree he’d eat Conor alive, I know you love that guy :)
 
This is pretty common knowledge. Chimaev grew up in Chechnya (which, much like Dagestan, has a rich cultural background in wrestling and combat sports) participating in freestyle wrestling on a regular basis during his childhood. He went on to win a bronze medal at the junior (i.e. adolescent age group) Russian National Championships. Then Chimaev moved to Sweden and trained at a few wrestling clubs before quickly dominating the national wrestling circuit in that country, winning a gold medal in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Swedish Freestyle National Championships. According to Wikipedia, his combined record from the Swedish national tournaments is 12-0 with three pins, seven tech falls, and 105 points scored, having only given up two points to his opponents. His wrestling credentials are impressive and some have hypothesized that had he dedicated himself to pursuing this sport, he could have potentially made it to the Olympics, which seems quite plausible (no telling what kind of success he would experience there, assuming he competed). Needless to say, his wrestling credentials are well-documented and pretty much beyond reproach as such things go.

However, Khamzat is not entirely one-dimensional even as a grappler. He's apparently competed in four Combat Sambo matches as well as multiple Judo tournaments. I can't find any reference of him actually training in either of these arts independently, but the fact that he's competed under their ruleset multiple times with practitioners who presumably do suggests to me that he has at least a basic understanding and proficiency in their techniques. Furthermore, Khamzat recently received his Blue Belt in BJJ and is often seen participating in rolling sessions in and out of the gi. He's clearly cognizant of the BJJ meta (which he uses to augment his dominant wrestling in the cage) and has 5 combined submission wins across his pro and amateur MMA career.

Chimaev's striking is pretty straightforward. I would argue he's a primary boxer for sure when it comes to standup based on what we've seen on him thus far and remarks about a pro boxer he trains with as a regular part of his camp. That being said, he also has some powerful kicks that we've seen glimpses of (and his sparring partners have mentioned these as well). He has referenced wanting to fight in the style of TJ Dillashaw as his career advances, so we may see him round out his striking as time goes on and fully embrace a sort of Dutch Kickboxing-esque style with a big emphasis on footwork, the likes of which he used to set up the KO on GM3.

TL;DR -- yeah, no shit he's a wrestler. But he's a well-rounded one who has competed in Sambo and and is getting more well-rounded everyday. And I say this as a guy who isn't on that particular hype train.
 
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Tylerlikesmma said:
If you would consider a child of two white parents, born & raised in Mongolia, as an authentic Mongolian, then yes, he’s Swedish.
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I would, but that is a bad analogy as he is not born in sweden.
 
Hitto said:
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Sambo is levels above D1 wrestling

Still shook from Khabib from exposing overrated shitty college folk style
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This should be an automatic, sticky rebuttal to any other idiot who elevates "American D1 wrestling" over Russian Combat Sambo
 
Khanzat will get exposed by Leon or any top 13 ww or middleweight fighter.
 
Tylerlikesmma said:
Who has he beaten that makes you so sure of this?
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I’m not so sure, just taking the piss out of his man crush. Khamzat is big, that would be a factor. I’m not sure though. Probably the first time I’ve ever said he could beat Conor. Not really thought about it. Have you read his threads? It’s not usually a place for rational discussion.
 
Luckyme said:
Most Russian MMA fighters from the Caucasus have a wrestling background. I believe it's the national sport in Dagestan and Chechnya. And in freestyle wrestling which is arguably tougher than NCAA wrestling.

That said, the days of wrestlers dominating MMA are over. Everyone cross trains now and TDD has improved. I'm with you that wrestling is a great base for MMA but it's not enough anymore. Khamzat is successful because he has great grappling and striking to go along with his wrestling.
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a lot of wrestlers still dominate in the UFC

Just like how everyone is cross training so too have the wrestlers, its just their specialisation or main base is still wrestling. Usman, Khabib, Blaydes, Colby are some examples.
 
Chimaev seems to enjoy grappling and subs mor than the average wrestler, he seems very open minded and enjoy rolling.
 
D 1 Wrestler said:
Wrestled his entire life, not sambo. Please stop thinking he's like khabib or fedor. He already destroyed one of khabibs sambo world champ team mates. I truly wish more russian wrestlers would transition to mma but unfortunately very few do despite wrestling being the best base for MMA.

Thanks for reading
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Khamzat will solidify himself as the greatest Russian born fighter in UFC history in the next 3-4 years
 
D 1 Wrestler said:
Wrestled his entire life, not sambo. Please stop thinking he's like khabib or fedor. He already destroyed one of khabibs sambo world champ team mates. I truly wish more russian wrestlers would transition to mma but unfortunately very few do despite wrestling being the best base for MMA.

Thanks for reading
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How would you say Khamzat's Swedish National wrestling credentials compare to that of an NCAA wrestler? He was a Swedish champ IIRC but I'm not sure how impressive the wrestling is considered to be in that region and apparently he had some success in Jr Nationals in Russia if I'm not mistaken?
 
Odoylerules4lyf said:
How would you say Khamzat's Swedish National wrestling credentials compare to that of an NCAA wrestler? He was a Swedish champ IIRC but I'm not sure how impressive the wrestling is considered to be in that region and apparently he had some success in Jr Nationals in Russia if I'm not mistaken?
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Think he was bronze in juniors in russia so definitely legit. He steamrolled sweden but that's not saying much, not sure if he ever did any international comps
 
D 1 Wrestler said:
Wrestled his entire life, not sambo. Please stop thinking he's like khabib or fedor. He already destroyed one of khabibs sambo world champ team mates. I truly wish more russian wrestlers would transition to mma but unfortunately very few do despite wrestling being the best base for MMA.

Thanks for reading
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Khabib is also a wrestler & judoka.
You can do more than one martial art lol.
 
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