"We sit back as though we know him perfectly, but it's not true" - Chael Sonnen claims Khamzat Chimaev could surprise everyone by recreating famous Georges St-Pierre moment against Nate Diaz at UFC 279

Chael Sonnen believes that Khamzat Chimaev could possibly recreate a popular Georges St-Pierre moment at UFC 279 against Nate Diaz.

In a recent YouTube video, Sonnen said that there's still a mystery surrounding Chimaev's skill set and potential in the UFC. While he's shown his talents on the ground, the Chechen-born Swede's upcoming opponent is known for his Brazilian jiu-jitsu abilities and triangle chokes.

According to Sonnen, if 'Borz' refuses to engage with Diaz on the ground, it would bear resemblance to St-Pierre's fight against Jake Shields, during which 'Rush' surprisingly aimed to keep the fight on the feet.

"We sit back as though we know him [Khamzat Chimaev] perfectly because he's very liked, very popular guy, but it's not true. We don't know him that well... I knew everything there was about Georges St-Pierre who refused to go to the ground with Jake Shields. Georges St-Pierre, the greatest fighter the sport had ever seen is in a fight that he's winning, it goes to the ground and he stands up and says, 'No.' We're sitting home and going, 'Georges you don't think you can handle yourself down there...?' No problem. George won the fight. he had his strategy but it surprised us. And it's a relevant point by me. What if Chimaev has that?"

Catch the full video below:

St-Pierre fought Shields for the welterweight title at UFC 129. The fight went the 25-minute distance and ended with 'Rush' getting his hand raised via unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 48-47, 50-45 and 48-47 in favor of the Canadian.

---

Sean O'Malley shares his prediction for Nate Diaz vs Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev will headline his first UFC pay-per-view event against Nate Diaz at UFC 279 this weekend.

Rising bantamweight star Sean O'Malley recently weighed in on the matchup on his podcast.

'Sugar' picked Diaz to win the fight as he believes Chimaev will gas out in the late rounds. According to O'Malley, the Stockton native will finish 'Borz' in the fifth frame.

"Imagine Nate finishes Chimaev in the fifth round. TKO. Exhaustion. I rewatched [Chimaev vs. Burns] a few days ago before sparring, and I was like holy! That was a war, dude ... I'm going to say fifth-round finish for Nate. If I go with my head, I'm saying Khamzat. If I'm going with my heart, I'm picking Nate, fifth-round finish, baby! 209!"

Catch the full episode of the podcast below: