Joe Pyfer: Khamzat Chimaev 'doesn't want chaos, he wants control'
· Yahoo Sports
Joe Pyfer suggests a game plan that could frustrate dominant UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev.
No one has had an answer for middleweight champion Chimaev's (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) wrestling, with a few fighters being able to give the undefeated force a competitive fight. Chimaev put on a suffocating grappling display when he claimed the title off Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319.
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Pyfer (16-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who emerged as a top contender after finishing former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Fight Night 271, weighed in on what it takes to beat Chimaev.
"I think you have to obviously do your due diligence on your wrestling and understand that the only thing that he's going to throw in the beginning is to set up that initial takedown," Pyfer told Full Mount MMA. "He wants to wrestle early so he could fatigue you, and if you're super disciplined, I would say probably for the first 10 minutes of that fight, where you're just ready for the shot, and you're just throwing everything up the middle and changing levels with him, or you are staying low, and you're staying grounded so that he doesn't get a chance to get under you, I think that you have a very, very good chance of winning.
"But that's just from what we've seen. I think if you're able to stop the takedown, you have a very fair chance of beating Khamzat. But it's not like he's not a threat on the feet. Definitely hits hard. He's definitely got some speed. He's definitely complete. It's just he's a lot more uncomfortable on the feet if he can't dictate it, so throw things up the middle and make it chaotic. He doesn't want chaos, he wants control, so if you can make it chaotic, he's going to struggle."
Chimaev makes his first title defense against Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) in the UFC 328 main event on May 9 in Newark, N.J. (Paramount+). He is a big favorite over Strickland, but Pyfer isn't ruling out the former champion's chances.
"These guys got true beef," Pyfer said. "I think Sean Strickland is a good fighter. I think Khamzat is an excellent wrestler and a good fighter. He's got aura about him. He's fun to watch. I do have Sean Strickland in my heart winning.
"I don't know if he'll win because Khamzat is a different level of a wrestling, but I think Sean can survive the storm if he doesn't get submitted in the first round, obviously. I think he can win that fight. I think he's got better wrestling than (former champion Dricus du Plessis) does, but I think it's going to be a really good fight."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joe Pyfer: If you can make it chaotic, Khamzat Chimaev will struggle