Henry Cejudo thinks Khamzat Chimaev can’t approach Kamaru Usman the same way he did Gilbert Burns.
Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) endured some damage for the first time in his professional MMA career when he slugged it out with Burns for three rounds at UFC 273 on Saturday. Although Chimaev won, he had to overcome quite a bit of adversity.
The undefeated star has reiterated his intentions of smashing UFC welterweight champion Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC), but Cejudo doesn’t like his chances after watching him fight Burns – unless he changes things up.
“That was the right call, but if Chimaev goes out there and fights ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ (Usman) like that, he’s in big trouble man,” Cejudo said on “The Triple C & Schmo Show.” “We just saw him kind of become human here.”
He continued, “Chimaev needed this humble pie…he thinks he can walk on water a little too much and that’s partially probably our fault because we kind of put him on a pedestal where he really hasn’t proven anything. Once he fought a top contender, a lot of people gave that fight to Gilbert Burns. He could have lost that thing.”
Although Chimaev is on the cusp of title contention at welterweight, Cejudo thinks “Borz” would benefit from a move up to 185 pounds, a division he’s competed at four times throughout his career.
“I almost feel like he’s too big for 170,” Cejudo said. “He’s too big. Yeah, you can make the weight, but you’re barely able to make the weight where it really affects you. I think Chimaev at 185 pounds is a more dangerous Chimaev than 170 pounds.”
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