Kevin Holland explains why he thinks Khamzat Chimaev is a smart fighter

Kevin Holland thinks rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev is a very smart fighter because of the way he selects his fights.

Chimaev quickly rose to UFC stardom and become a fan favorite after an impressive run on Fight Island in 2020. The Chechen is currently undefeated in his mixed martial arts career at 9-0, with a three-fight win streak under the UFC banner, all by finishing his opponents. To make things even more impressive, Chimaev's victories have come at both the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the UFC.

Kevin Holland Breaks Down Khazmat Chimaev

Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast recently, fellow rising star and UFC middleweight Kevin Holland gave props to Chimaev for smartly bouncing between divisions while strategically picking his opponents.

"He's bouncing back and forth to the fights that make the most sense," Kevin Holland said. "So, he'll go to ' 70 for a fight that makes sense. He'll come back to '85 for a fight that makes sense.

"You know, nothing wrong with it, good management - fighters who fight like that, very smart fighters, I tip my hat off to them, them and their management and their coaches, that's great. That's not me, I'd never be that, so props to those guys. But it's like, you go to '70 cause this fight makes sense for you, smart move. You go back to '85 cause this fight makes sense for you, smart move."

Kevin Holland explained how Chimaev's knockout win over Gerald Meerschaert was particularly a smart move. Meerschaert had been put through the wringer with his recent heavy-hitting opponents.

"I was impressed by the way he knocked out Meerschaert just because he took the smartest route, which was keeping it standing, and I thought the guy who likes to grapple was going to take it to the ground," Kevin Holland said. "But knocking out Meerschaert, after Meerschaert is coming off of losses, you know what I mean - and I know I smacked him a couple of times, I know Deron Winn smacked him a couple of times, and I know Ian Heinisch ultimately landed the last smacking.

"I think if you add up those three people who hae decent power and have been smacking him at '85 - the head just isn't the same that it used to be. He's even fought Thiago Santos, right? It's like, you can't fight all these killers and take these types of head shots and think that you're going to be okay. And if Chimaev has a little bit of pop, of course it's going to look good. I mean, smart. Props to him for taking the smart program every time you fight a guy."

While Chimaev has impressed Kevin Holland so far, he's interested to see what happens when the rising Chechen steps into the octagon against a healthy top contender.

"We both fought John Phillips. I went out there and stood and banged with John Phillips," Kevin Holland explained. "Coach told me in the second round, okay, you already look good in the first round, go out there in the second round, take him down, choke him out. He's obviously not trying to go away from punches.

"Chimaev went out there, took him down, punched on him, punched on him, subbed on him. Smart, smart fighter. Props to him. But what happens when you can't go out there and take an easy smart route? What happens when a fighter is really f*cking good? That's why I - like you said - I wanted to see the Leon [Edwards] fight. I wanna see tough competition."

Do you agree with Kevin Holland and his assessment of Chimaev's recent run? Do you think Chimaev will respond to Kevin Holland challenging him to a fight soon? Let us know in the comments!