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Khamzat Chimaev has asserted himself as a major force in the UFC and those who have trained with him know what kind of powerhouse he is in the MMA world. Appearing on a recent episode of Bowks Talking Bouts, Matej Penaz touched on several subjects ahead of his fight with David Zawada at Oktagon 66 on Feb. 1.
When recalling his experiences training with the surging UFC middleweight contender ahead of Penaz's fight at Oktagon 50, Penaz said,
"Oh with Khamzat [Chimaev], we train together in Allstars gym in Sweden. Yeah, Khamzat is a really hard worker. He's like; he's the guy who is like first in the gym and last. So yeah, it was very good experience for me. His wrestling is amazing. He's like really; I never met anybody with wrestling like this.
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"He is so fast and so; he has like such good skills in the wrestling. He's really good fighter and I'm always looking for his fights. How he can dominate his opponents and he [does] not [make] mistake[s]."
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Check out Matej Penaz discussing training anecdotes with Khamzat Chimaev [at the 3:15 mark] below:
Khamzat Chimaev's massive goals for 2025
Khamzat Chimaev is currently the number-three-ranked middleweight but thinks he will become the outright champion at 185 pounds by the end of the year. With Sean Strickland vying for the gold in a looming rematch with reigning middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis, many foresee Chimaev as being the next title contender to clash with the UFC 312 victor.
The 30-year-old took to his social media to underscore this rhetoric even more:
The native of Russia sits nicely in the hierarchy of 185-pound contenders, but there is also a consequential contest at middleweight set for this weekend. With former two-time champion Israel Adesanya taking on Nassourdine Imavov on Feb. 1, an even more emphatic win than Chimaev over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 could potentially vault that victor into a title bid over Chimaev.
In any event, it seems like the top end of the UFC's middleweight division could experience a lot of interesting movement as 2025 continues.
