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In this feature, Frontkick.online sits down with Johnathon Michael, a long-time part of Chimaev’s management, to give you a exclusive look behind the grind of Team Khamzat.
Michael has been with Khamzat since the start of his UFC career and works closely with him on a daily basis. Together, they also run Wolfpack Management, a management company representing fighters competing in organizations like PFL, UAE Warriors, and AFN.
”The thing with Khamzat is that he doesn’t need to know who he’s fighting. He doesn’t care about that. His wrestling is so much better than everyone else’s. People say that wrestling can be boring over five rounds, but then someone comes in and does what he does in just seconds – that’s not something just anyone can do. So he just wants to know where the fight is, how much money he’ll make, and that he’ll get the belt. Those are the three things he wants to know,” Michael tells Frontkick.
What have you heard him say about DDP?
”That DDP has an unorthodox style. He is the ‘best worst fighter’ as someone put it. He’s good everywhere and has a weird style that’s hard to control and time. But to put it simply – Khamzat doesn’t see anything special in his technique. So he’s going to do what he always does.”
How do you think Khamzat will react going into the title fight?
”I think Dricus will try to get under his skin but I don’t really know if that’s a good or bad thing, to be honest,” Michael laughs. ”I think it’s going to be a bit back and forth. Dricus likes to trash talk and will try to mess with him. The whole fight-week will probably be a bit tense – not a full-blown fight or anything, but definitely some back-and-forth trash talk.”
In early July, Team Khamzat relocates to the United States to set up shop in California in preperations for the title fight.
”We have a good team, a couple of people coming with us and some that we’ll meet over there. One of them is an American Olympic wrestler named Pat Downey. We brought him in for the last camp as well. And on the West Coast we know gyms and training partners. We have good contacts there. So we’ll be there for about three weeks, and then around ten days in Chicago due to media obligations and so on. We’re always well-prepared.”
Michael pauses a moment to find the right words.
”When you’re at this level, as a superstar, it’s not as simple as people think. More money, more problems, basically. You need a good team behind you, people who are skilled and do their jobs. Khamzat realized this – that he needs the right people in the right places. He should just have to train and fight. Everything else, the team should handle to make his life easier. If he says, ‘I want to go to L.A. four weeks before the fight,’ then I make it happen. He’s his own boss, really, and he wants certain people working with him. He makes the decisions, and we just make it work.”
”No one has ever trained with someone like Khamzat – neither the way he strikes nor the way he wrestles. I’m not saying he has the best striking in the world, but in the way he trains, the way he hits and wrestles – no one applies that kind of pressure or has that ’I’m going to kill you’ mentality. You can’t prepare for Khamzat, and it was the same with Khabib – they’re so good that there’s not even a number two. Maybe there’s a number ten or fifteen.”
”Khabib had his style, and Khamzat is a bit more aggressive and submission-focused – he attacks more than Khabib. Opponents don’t really know who they’re facing until they’re in the cage. You can see it during sparring when people come to train. Some come in trying to win rounds against Khamzat, but after just a few seconds, you can see in their eyes – they’re no longer there. Ninety percent break immediately.”
A lot of experts and fighters are still picking Dricus to win the fight though. Why is that?
”It was the same thing against Whittaker. I saw not a single fighter, except for Ilia Topuria, who believed Khamzat would win. That’s how it is with all his fights since the Gilbert Burns fight, because people realized he’s a human too."
According to Michal, the undefeated fighter’s mentality is just as much of an asset as his wrestling, relentless pace, and physical strength.
”To be that kind of athlete – like Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky was too – you have to have that mentality. Losing just isn’t an option, so even if you’re down 100-0 for the moment, you somehow believe you’re still going to win this. It’s cool to see. He’s under so much pressure, but he stays calm – like a Terminator. I mean, how many times has he fought with serious injuries? He was completely messed up before the Kamaru Usman fight. Probably his worst camp ever when he had major issues with his hand. Some knuckles were basically twisted. I’ve got it on video. It was insane. Four weeks before the fight, he couldn’t even make a fist.”
Johnathon Michael claims that the original plan was for Chimaev to fight on June 28 at UFC 317 during International Fight Week. The team began preparing for the bout as soon as he defeated Whittaker last October – but du Plessis put those plans on hold.
"Khamzat started training again – not intensely, just enough to stay in shape in case something came up over the summer. So he was ready just a few weeks after the fight against Whittaker. He spent quite a while preparing in the mountains, but then we found out that DDP declined the date UFC had wanted.”
Do you know why Dricus did that?
”I suspect he's one of those who didn’t know that Khamzat had his visa and a U.S. fight was in mind. I think DDP was thinking October in Abu Dhabi. So I believe he was just, you know, having some beers, taking it easy, planning to have this summer off – and then he suddenly got the call and was like, ’What?!’ I know people say he was injured, but I don’t believe that. I think he just got caught off guard.”
Source: https://frontkick.online/senaste-nytt/khamzat-chimaev-training-camp/
Michael has been with Khamzat since the start of his UFC career and works closely with him on a daily basis. Together, they also run Wolfpack Management, a management company representing fighters competing in organizations like PFL, UAE Warriors, and AFN.
”The thing with Khamzat is that he doesn’t need to know who he’s fighting. He doesn’t care about that. His wrestling is so much better than everyone else’s. People say that wrestling can be boring over five rounds, but then someone comes in and does what he does in just seconds – that’s not something just anyone can do. So he just wants to know where the fight is, how much money he’ll make, and that he’ll get the belt. Those are the three things he wants to know,” Michael tells Frontkick.
What have you heard him say about DDP?
”That DDP has an unorthodox style. He is the ‘best worst fighter’ as someone put it. He’s good everywhere and has a weird style that’s hard to control and time. But to put it simply – Khamzat doesn’t see anything special in his technique. So he’s going to do what he always does.”
How do you think Khamzat will react going into the title fight?
”I think Dricus will try to get under his skin but I don’t really know if that’s a good or bad thing, to be honest,” Michael laughs. ”I think it’s going to be a bit back and forth. Dricus likes to trash talk and will try to mess with him. The whole fight-week will probably be a bit tense – not a full-blown fight or anything, but definitely some back-and-forth trash talk.”
In early July, Team Khamzat relocates to the United States to set up shop in California in preperations for the title fight.
”We have a good team, a couple of people coming with us and some that we’ll meet over there. One of them is an American Olympic wrestler named Pat Downey. We brought him in for the last camp as well. And on the West Coast we know gyms and training partners. We have good contacts there. So we’ll be there for about three weeks, and then around ten days in Chicago due to media obligations and so on. We’re always well-prepared.”
Michael pauses a moment to find the right words.
”When you’re at this level, as a superstar, it’s not as simple as people think. More money, more problems, basically. You need a good team behind you, people who are skilled and do their jobs. Khamzat realized this – that he needs the right people in the right places. He should just have to train and fight. Everything else, the team should handle to make his life easier. If he says, ‘I want to go to L.A. four weeks before the fight,’ then I make it happen. He’s his own boss, really, and he wants certain people working with him. He makes the decisions, and we just make it work.”
”No one has ever trained with someone like Khamzat – neither the way he strikes nor the way he wrestles. I’m not saying he has the best striking in the world, but in the way he trains, the way he hits and wrestles – no one applies that kind of pressure or has that ’I’m going to kill you’ mentality. You can’t prepare for Khamzat, and it was the same with Khabib – they’re so good that there’s not even a number two. Maybe there’s a number ten or fifteen.”
”Khabib had his style, and Khamzat is a bit more aggressive and submission-focused – he attacks more than Khabib. Opponents don’t really know who they’re facing until they’re in the cage. You can see it during sparring when people come to train. Some come in trying to win rounds against Khamzat, but after just a few seconds, you can see in their eyes – they’re no longer there. Ninety percent break immediately.”
A lot of experts and fighters are still picking Dricus to win the fight though. Why is that?
”It was the same thing against Whittaker. I saw not a single fighter, except for Ilia Topuria, who believed Khamzat would win. That’s how it is with all his fights since the Gilbert Burns fight, because people realized he’s a human too."
According to Michal, the undefeated fighter’s mentality is just as much of an asset as his wrestling, relentless pace, and physical strength.
”To be that kind of athlete – like Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky was too – you have to have that mentality. Losing just isn’t an option, so even if you’re down 100-0 for the moment, you somehow believe you’re still going to win this. It’s cool to see. He’s under so much pressure, but he stays calm – like a Terminator. I mean, how many times has he fought with serious injuries? He was completely messed up before the Kamaru Usman fight. Probably his worst camp ever when he had major issues with his hand. Some knuckles were basically twisted. I’ve got it on video. It was insane. Four weeks before the fight, he couldn’t even make a fist.”
Johnathon Michael claims that the original plan was for Chimaev to fight on June 28 at UFC 317 during International Fight Week. The team began preparing for the bout as soon as he defeated Whittaker last October – but du Plessis put those plans on hold.
"Khamzat started training again – not intensely, just enough to stay in shape in case something came up over the summer. So he was ready just a few weeks after the fight against Whittaker. He spent quite a while preparing in the mountains, but then we found out that DDP declined the date UFC had wanted.”
Do you know why Dricus did that?
”I suspect he's one of those who didn’t know that Khamzat had his visa and a U.S. fight was in mind. I think DDP was thinking October in Abu Dhabi. So I believe he was just, you know, having some beers, taking it easy, planning to have this summer off – and then he suddenly got the call and was like, ’What?!’ I know people say he was injured, but I don’t believe that. I think he just got caught off guard.”
Source: https://frontkick.online/senaste-nytt/khamzat-chimaev-training-camp/
