News Whittaker v Chimaev to headline UFC Saudia Arabia on June 22

[Private Whatley]

Yea, Rob probably lacks the power that Burns and Usman did to KO/TKO Khamzat, so I don't think he will be as big of a threat on the feet as people think. Rob will probably need to win a 5 round decision to beat Khamzat. As long as Khamzat uses his wrestling, I think he can beat Whittaker fairly easily on the ground. But if it stays standing, its probably going to be a split decision for one of them.

The issue is that Khamzat seems to slow down after round 1 while Whitaker never does.

 

[brakkkop]

Yeah neither was Dricus', how did that work out for Rob?

dricus is a total different fighter, better cardio onorthodox style, im not impressed with borz striking his only chance imo is to steamroll rob in the 1st round and submit him. after the 1st his cario is gone.

 

[jsbx45]

Looking good. Hope it all really happens.

 

[chinarice]

dricus is a total different fighter, better cardio onorthodox style, im not impressed with borz striking his only chance imo is to steamroll rob in the 1st round and submit him. after the 1st his cario is gone.

Yet he's won the final round in the fights he didn't finish....

 

[Gregoire1]

Rob 70%

 

[laleggenda27]

In what world did Khamzat "arguably lose" to Usman? There is no possible way to give Usman that fight; I agree a draw is reasonable though (10-8, 9-10, 9-10).

Not to mention, Usman probably isn't "over the hill" either. He dominated Leon before getting KO'd, then lost to Leon (arguably a draw) and Khamzat (arguably a draw). I say this as someone who is not a fan of Usman either, but he's still a top fighter albeit not in the P4P discussion anymore.

1. If you don't give Khamzat a 10-8 for the first round (plenty of people scored it 10-9), then it's possible to give Usman the win. Four media sites and approximately 14% of fan scoring gave it to Usman. I didn't necessarily score it that way, but some people did. That's why I said it's arguable.
2. It depends on how we define "over-the-hill." Is Usman still a good fighter? Yes. But he's a shell of his former self. His biggest strength has always been his ability to wrestle and use pace to grind opponents down. He clearly can't do that anymore because of his knees. These days he's just a plodding striker, which happens to a lot of wrestlers when they age and their bodies break down. And it seems like that head kick from Leon took a big toll--whether it be physical or mental. Usman simply isn't the same fighter.