Shavkat Rakhmonov or Khamzat Chimaev - Who has a better chance to become a champion?

Who has a better chance to be a champion?

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I think both have very good chances to become champions.

Khamzat fights Costa it's a tough fight in that Costa has strong takedown defense for the first 5-7 minutes before his cardio crashes but Costa really doesn't have much knockout power and I'm hopeful Khamzat growing into a MW will sure up a lot of cardio concerns, I think it'll be tough but he gets it done. I do favor Khamzat to beat Izzy, Rob and Jan were able to get him down, I think Khamzat spells seriously trouble for the Kiwi-Nigerian.

Shavkat if he gets paired vs Belal or Burns, I like his chances to stop the takedowns, push the pace and probably finish them with his striking. His cardio and takedown defense still have asterisks next to them but I think at 28 and being undefeated he will improve and learn a lot from that Neal fight. Whether the Colby or Leon who has the belt, I think Shavkat has a very reasonable chance vs both. Vs Leon, I think at range Shavkat is longer, more dangerous and throws at a high pace and in the clinch where Leon is also great, Shavkat is super dominant both at finding opportunistic takedowns and vicious knees and elbows. In boxing range Shavkat is more comfortable, Leon tends to avoid exchanging there. The pressure, physicality, length and depth to Shavkats game makes it hard for Leon but it's a compelling fight. If Shavkats cardio improves and his takedown defense looks strong vs Burns/Belal, I think he can probably just lay a beating on Colby/Usman at their stages in their careers (35 and 36 tough recent losses and inactive for Colby).

I think they both have strong chances. 40-60% likelihood territory.
 
HuskySamoan said:
I think both have very good chances to become champions.

Khamzat fights Costa it's a tough fight in that Costa has strong takedown defense for the first 5-7 minutes before his cardio crashes but Costa really doesn't have much knockout power and I'm hopeful Khamzat growing into a MW will sure up a lot of cardio concerns, I think it'll be tough but he gets it done. I do favor Khamzat to beat Izzy, Rob and Jan were able to get him down, I think Khamzat spells seriously trouble for the Kiwi-Nigerian.

Shavkat if he gets paired vs Belal or Burns, I like his chances to stop the takedowns, push the pace and probably finish them with his striking. His cardio and takedown defense still have asterisks next to them but I think at 28 and being undefeated he will improve and learn a lot from that Neal fight. Whether the Colby or Leon who has the belt, I think Shavkat has a very reasonable chance vs both. Vs Leon, I think at range Shavkat is longer, more dangerous and throws at a high pace and in the clinch where Leon is also great, Shavkat is super dominant both at finding opportunistic takedowns and vicious knees and elbows. In boxing range Shavkat is more comfortable, Leon tends to avoid exchanging there. The pressure, physicality, length and depth to Shavkats game makes it hard for Leon but it's a compelling fight. If Shavkats cardio improves and his takedown defense looks strong vs Burns/Belal, I think he can probably just lay a beating on Colby/Usman at their stages in their careers (35 and 36 tough recent losses and inactive for Colby).

I think they both have strong chances. 40-60% likelihood territory.
Click to expand...

Nice breakdown, well said.
 
Shavkat is better but WW is a lot tougher for grapplers.

Khamzat's path to the title in MW is relatively easy with the lack of grappling talent so he'll probably win a title first if he's actually interested in fighting.
 
Unless your giving Khamzat favourable match ups I don't see him getting to a MW title fight. Think he wouldn't start as a favourite against Costa, Cannonier or even perhaps Vettori for that matter and can't really see him beating Whittaker. Shavkat should try and get a fight with either Belal or Burns. Win either fight and he's arguably up next should Edwards end up facing Covington.
 
Hard to say. We haven't really seen Shavkat's takedown be all thsr successful at the highest level. That has been fine, because his striking is excellent, but I'm not sure how that's gonna translate against the very elite. My guess is that he will do fine and continue to improve, but we don't know that yet.

Chimaev really seems like he might be able to take anyone out, especially if it is someone who isn't likely to threaten him from the bottom(like Burns). I would imagine that he will continue to improve as well. More likely? Shavkat, only because someone like Whitaker isn't really standing in his way.
 
Skill wise they could both do it but Shavkat seems smarter so I'll go with him.

Wouldn't be surprised if Khamzat stabbed someone in a Shisha Bar or something before he gets to a title shot.
 
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