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UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier believes he'll be able to deal with Khamzat Chimaev's wrestling in a potential fight.
Speaking to Inside Fighting about the prospect of taking on the rising star, Cannonier said it'd have to be a little eliminator to incentivize him to face the lower-ranked contender.
Speaking about the fight itself, 'The Killa Gorilla' claimed that Chimaev would find it hard to convincingly outwrestle him:
"If and when we do fight, he might get a takedown. It'll definitely be work for him to get that takedown. It ain't going to be easy, but if he does get that takedown, he is going to have a hard time keeping me down, and if he's able to keep me down, it's because he is not punching at me. He is not striking. My goal is not to let him get into that wrestling environment and let him build himself up in that regard. I've been really good at neutralizing guys wherever the fight goes."
Catch Jared Cannonier's comments about Khamzat Chimaev below (17:05):
While there were rumblings about Chimaev facing Sean Strickland for the middleweight title following his win against Kamaru Usman, health issues have forced the Chechen-born fighter into a hiatus since UFC 294.
Now, with the title having changed hands at UFC 297, many believe it is more likely that the UFC will book the newly minted champion Dricus du Plessis against Israel Adesanya.
Khamzat Chimaev stakes his claim for title shot
Khamzat Chimaev believes he is due for a title shot and should be fighting for the middleweight gold in his next octagon outing.
Speaking to ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto about his title aspirations, the 29-year-old called to attention a promise the UFC had made him following the win against Kamaru Usman:
"I don't know, who else is going to fight them. Israel [Adesanya] is out, I don't know when he is coming back [20]27?... All these guys [already] fought each other, [it's] only me who is undefeated, undisputed... [The UFC] promised me after the [Kamaru] Usman fight, 'You will for sure gonna fight for the title' and I won that fight. I don't know what's going on... If you promised me something you have to answer for it."
Catch Khamzat Chimaev's comments below (3:44):
