Ex-UFC referee highlights major flaw in Khamzat Chimaev's crucifix game: "Are you hurting him?"

A veteran MMA referee recently offered his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev's game plan against Dricus du Plessis. The individual asserted that Chimaev should have taken advantage of his dominant position by hurting his opponent with a specific move.

Chimaev showcased his wrestling prowess by taking down du Plessis multiple times in their title fight at UFC 319, which lasted five rounds. However, he was unable to finish 'Stillknocks' despite spending the majority of the time in the top position. As a result, the fight went to distance and Chimaev became the new champion by unanimous decision.

In a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, former UFC referee John McCarthy said that Chimaev should have used elbow strikes to hurt du Plessis:

''The one thing, when Chimaev goes back, I'm going to sit here and tell you right. Now look, all those little punches and everything, stop. Set yourself up for elbows and utilize elbows. That's what you need to do in that crucifix position. You're never going to get a referee like Mark Goddard who is, absolutely intelligent as far as, 'oh, hey, those aren't doing damage. You can do that all day long.' That was Roy Nelson's big thing. He would sit there and he'd start counting. And I tell him, you could count to 3,000. I don't give a sh*t okay, it's are you hurting him? Okay, that's what it's got to be.''

He added:

''Chimaev needs to switch up some of the things he's doing because elbows are exactly what you want to do in that position. There was many times that he couldn't utilize the elbow based upon the way [du Plessis] was moving his head and coming up towards his armpit. But anytime that head comes away from the armpit and goes towards the hip, man, it's time to start lighting him up.''

Check out John McCarthy's comments below (8:04):

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Former champion reacts to Khamzat Chimaev's title win against Dricus du Plessis

Former middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya shared his opinion on Khamzat Chimaev's title-winning performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 on Saturday.

In a recent YouTube video, Adesanya praised Chimaev, saying:

''Not what I expected. But I’m glad Khamzat [Chimaev] fixed his cardio or improved his cardio to the point where he can go five rounds and just ragdoll people. That’s a mess to deal with because I thought DDP, okay, maybe round four, he’d be able to stuff the takedowns because Khamzat would get tired. But he didn’t even slow down...Khamzat new middleweight champion, division is in good hands.'' [15:03]