Media RDR's thoughts on DDP vs. Khamzat after having trained with both.

[Ramon Antonio]

He chose to stand and bang. That's a lot different than "couldn't outgrapple" him. By all means believe he isn't a special grappler. Doesn't really matter to me if you understand what you're seeing or not. In fact, the more people who don't, the better. Gets me better odds for betting.

Not true. He couldn't hold him down.

 

[usernamee]

Chimmy's go to is an RNC. In modern MMA against the best in the world it's reallllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy hard to sink that fucker in and finish the job unless the opponent has been hurt.

 

[mkess101]

Yeah, it’s getting crazy here.
Scamzat didn’t want to take a submission grappling match against Hermansson, he wanted rules that favor him.

Against Burns, he himself said in the post fight presser, that he didn’t want any of the superior ground game of Gilbert and had to stand with him. But of course the narrative on sherdog today is that he chose to stand and bang.

Next we will probably hear about the sparring round with Rockhold, but that’s also already been explained differently in reality.

Ratlip should go and compete in the UFC BJJ, maybe then these glazers will shut up about his once in a decade level talent in grappling…

The last part is in Russian or something, but I watched the full ~12 minutes and nowhere (in English) does he say anything at all about "not wanting any part of Gilbert's superior ground game" that I saw. Was it somewhere else?

See...I'm not emotional about this stuff at all. I don't really like him all that much. He seems kinda like a dick. So all this silly "derp you're glazing him" childish yapping makes me laugh. I like to make money. I'm objectively analyzing what I see. I'm not always right, nobody is. But I'm right way more than I'm wrong. So we'll see. I have $ on Chimaev, but will absolutely live bet DDP if he survives early and Chimaev seems to be fading.

 

[Conan the K-9]

The last part is in Russian or something, but I watched the full ~12 minutes and nowhere (in English) does he say anything at all about "not wanting any part of Gilbert's superior ground game" that I saw. Was it somewhere else?

See...I'm not emotional about this stuff at all. I don't really like him all that much. He seems kinda like a dick. So all this silly "derp you're glazing him" childish yapping makes me laugh. I like to make money. I'm objectively analyzing what I see. I'm not always right, nobody is. But I'm right way more than I'm wrong. So we'll see. I have $ on Chimaev, but will absolutely live bet DDP if he survives early and Chimaev seems to be fading.

Here for you, it wasn’t too easy to find.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/s/sRS5waXDoJ

 

[Luffy]

Well, he's ditch jk

Anyways this guy came outra nowhere. Never heard of him, and suddenly he made Bo quit with a knee. The way Bo was looking at the referee after that knee, damn... That was some nasty knee. Imanov also kinda popped up suddenly. He had lost in a dominant decision once by Sean Strickland, suddenly he rises up, KOs Izzy and is #1 ranked...

Chimaev has been the next to fight for the title since 2020 I guess. If Khamzat doesn't get a tittle fight it'd be... Dude has been the "next champion" for many and many years now. It sucks because it's not like he enjoys being more inactive, but the weight cut and overtraining initially he had was so bizarre that his body's immune system ended up not holding up... He can't keep the same pace as before, he was on a ventilator during COVID, several healthy issues. I hope he gets the belt once for his history tbh. He deserves that moment. Ever since I started following UFC more closely I remember Chimaev in the start with that inhumane dominance smashing everyone and acting like a maniac like when he beat Kevin Holland.

His demeanor changed quite a bit... He and Jiri used to train together. They have both changed. Like, they are both more serious and focused, at the same time they seem more tense tho... Like Jiri said "I'm enjoying this life, but it'll cost you everything. It'll cost you your own personality and you'll be reborn as a new one. And this is the way". I remember when Khamzat would challenge Alex Pereira out of nothing. When he was on welterweight and Alex got the middleweight belt, first thing he did was challenge Pereira for the belt. Then when Pereira beat Jiri, first thing he did was also challenge Pereira. Alex even called him an "ass clown. He only challenges me when he knows I can't accept because the organization won't let him fight. When he challenged me after I lost the middleweight belt, I accepted and told him for us to fight at LHW as I was on my way up and he declined. But when I can't accept the fight, he challenges me, he's a clown" lololol

Dana was even "what? Pereira and Khamzat were arranging a fight at LHW? But for what? Neither have the belt, do they think UFC is a fight club to fight for no reason?" lulz. This was right after Alex had beaten Jan Blachowicz I think.

Unfortunately tho I think Dricus is gonna win. I think DDP is too strong and resilient to be submitted in the first round. Rob took DDP down but DDP held him in a way that Rob Whittaker got the worst in the ground. Dricus is tough as a MF in grappling, he has the size of a LHW and weighs like 205 lbs on fight night. Add that to his skills as a legit good Greco Roman fighter, not enough to compete with Chimaev but enough to survive better than Usman... And I think by round 3, DDP's striking combination with his heavy hits and his non stop pressure will let him take control. I can even imagine a scenario that DDP gets on top and lands ground and pound exploring Khamzat's later tiredness... I really don't think this is going well for Khamzat but I wish...

 

[mkess101]

Here for you, it wasn’t too easy to find.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/s/sRS5waXDoJ

Bro, that's not him saying Burns had a "superior ground game", cmon. Sure, he was giving a literal world champion grappler some respect but him saying "He tried to do an armbar, I didn't like that shit" isn't at all what you said.

 

[mkess101]

Not true. He couldn't hold him down.

That's a cool gif and good body kick by burns. Pretty sure they'd beaten the shit out of each other pretty good by then though. And Khamzat did tire for sure in that fight. (And against Usman). That's a concern for me betting him vs DDP and while I think Khamzat wins, I'll be ready to live bet DDP if it's warranted.

 

[Deleted member 517683]

Because I've seen grapplers and lived in that world for 2 and a half decades and I understand what I'm watching. He absolutely ragdolled Usman until he gassed. Chose to stand with Burns.

Yes, the gas tank could be a concern. Nowhere did I say that there's no chance he tires vs DDP and fades as the fight goes on. But his grappling talent is absolutely generational. It makes zero difference if you think it's "crazy".

I understand your point, I don´t have this kind of experience. But ultimately, we're talking about an MMA title. With Usman he couldn´t do much after he gassed. And why he chose that against Burns as this kind of phenom knows only Khamzat. If it was out of fear of Burns' BJJ, the "generational" term is unfortunately somewhat shaky.
For me, he hasn't yet proven his status as a complete MMA fighter. That requires discipline (weight cut) and a game plan. And not just being a force for two rounds at most.

But honestly, I wouldn't want him as champion. He'd probably lose the title on the scales. And that's only if he fights more than once a year.

 

[Conan the K-9]

Bro, that's not him saying Burns had a "superior ground game", cmon. Sure, he was giving a literal world champion grappler some respect but him saying "He tried to do an armbar, I didn't like that shit" isn't at all what you said.

Nah, his BJJ coach Finfou knows Gilbert and advised him not to engage on the ground because of the danger that Burns posed. It’s quite clear that scamzat was not able to answer to the grappling exchanges, and that’s why had to stand with him.

And what comes to the fight against DDP, I’m not saying he can’t get it done, but this hyperbole and extreme exaggeration of his skills is just silly.

 

[mkess101]

I understand your point, I don´t have this kind of experience. But ultimately, we're talking about an MMA title. With Usman he couldn´t do much after he gassed. And why he chose that against Burns as this kind of phenom knows only Khamzat. If it was out of fear of Burns' BJJ, the "generational" term is unfortunately somewhat shaky.
For me, he hasn't yet proven his status as a complete MMA fighter. That requires discipline (weight cut) and a game plan. And not just being a force for two rounds at most.

But honestly, I wouldn't want him as champion. He'd probably lose the title on the scales. And that's only if he fights more than once a year.

Oh trust me I'm not saying he's the perfect fighter (or even close). Words matter. He's a generational TALENT when it comes to grappling. But he has flaws.

 

[mkess101]

Nah, his BJJ coach Finfou knows Gilbert and advised him not to engage on the ground because of the danger that Burns posed. It’s quite clear that scamzat was not able to answer to the grappling exchanges, and that’s why had to stand with him.

And what comes to the fight against DDP, I’m not saying he can’t get it done, but this hyperbole and extreme exaggeration of his skills is just silly.

Yes, they thought it better to stand with Burns. That Burns was a bigger threat on the mat than standing. That's still not saying they think Burns is the "better grappler". And FFS...we're talking about a literal world champ in Gil, not some random black belt.

And it's not hyperbole. Overall, Khamzat is a generational grappling talent. But as I said in my last post, that's far from him being a perfect fighter (or even close).

 

[Ramon Antonio]

That's a cool gif and good body kick by burns. Pretty sure they'd beaten the shit out of each other pretty good by then though. And Khamzat did tire for sure in that fight. (And against Usman). That's a concern for me betting him vs DDP and while I think Khamzat wins, I'll be ready to live bet DDP if it's warranted.

Khamzat literally went for a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight, got him down briefly after 1 minute of trying, but Gilbert popped right back up.

You need to watch that fight again.

 

[Conan the K-9]

Yes, they thought it better to stand with Burns. That Burns was a bigger threat on the mat than standing. That's still not saying they think Burns is the "better grappler". And FFS...we're talking about a literal world champ in Gil, not some random black belt.

And it's not hyperbole. Overall, Khamzat is a generational grappling talent. But as I said in my last post, that's far from him being a perfect fighter (or even close).

If you say so

 

[mkess101]

If you say so

I do.

 

[mkess101]

Khamzat literally went for a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight, got him down briefly after 1 minute of trying, but Gilbert popped right back up.

You need to watch that fight again.

And Gilbert is a world champion grappler, not some random black belt from a gym in Kansas.

 

[Deleted member 517683]

Oh trust me I'm not saying he's the perfect fighter (or even close). Words matter. He's a generational TALENT when it comes to grappling. But he has flaws.

Yes, words matter. Then, unfortunately, you shouldn't have written this because it sounds different:

RDR is a very good grappler. Khamzat is a generational grappler. There's a gap in ability there. Maybe some don't want to admit it, but it's there.

 

[Conan the K-9]

And Gilbert is a world champion grappler, not some random black belt from a gym in Kansas.

And Scam does have zero BJJ credentials and is somehow surely better grappler than Gilbert?

 

[usernamee]

Khamzat literally went for a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the fight, got him down briefly after 1 minute of trying, but Gilbert popped right back up.

You need to watch that fight again.

Popped right back up? Chimaev stood up and the ref stood Gilbert up.

Chimaev dragged Burns to the ground, Burns worked his way back up to the feet with the cage but Chimaev was still on him like glue so he tried to roll out of it but Chimaev followed him to the ground and once there Chimaev didn't show nearly the same type of agressiveness he usually does when on top and elected to stand up.

My theory on this was always that Chimaev's BJJ coach had multiple competitive matches with Burns and that same coach has probably rolled Chimaev up like a pretzel in BJJ sparring which severely lowered Chimaev's confidence when it came to grappling exchanges with Burns

 

[Ramon Antonio]

Popped right back up? Chimaev stood up and the ref stood Gilbert up.

Chimaev dragged Burns to the ground, Burns worked his way back up to the feet with the cage but Chimaev was still on him like glue so he tried to roll out of it but Chimaev followed him to the ground and once there Chimaev didn't show nearly the same type of agressiveness he usually does when on top and elected to stand up.

My theory on this was always that Chimaev's BJJ coach had multiple competitive matches with Burns and that same coach has probably rolled Chimaev up like a pretzel in BJJ sparring which severely lowered Chimaev's confidence when it came to grappling exchanges with Burns

He pops back up at 1:11 by himself. Then he gets taken down again though but Khamzat backs off. Still shows that he had a hard time keeping him down. He does still have impressive chain wrestling obviously.

I don't think he can do this to DDP who is much stronger.

 

[NoSmilez]

I like DDP but he is a bit of a slow starter. I don't know enough of his defense to know if he can survive RNC and Darce attempts. I think Khamzat's last win is a bit of a freak accident. I don't think Khamzat can force DDP to tap without a clean choke.