Robert Whittaker thought Khamzat Chimaev looked unrecognizable at UFC 328.
Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) slowed down early in his split decision title loss to Sean Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) earlier this month at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC), who was quickly submitted by Chimaev at UFC 308, expected his former foe to run through Strickland.
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“Sean has now done the unthinkable twice and props to him for that,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “Like I said, gun to my head, I had Chimaev winning it, and Sean proved me wrong. I’m dead now. Respect where it’s due. It’s hard to say because styles make fights, right? And I don’t know if being in there with Sean, Chimaev is seeing something vastly different than what we are.
“Is there something Chimaev is seeing in there with him that is different than what the people watching from the outside are seeing. Because that is not the version of Chimaev that fought me. That’s not the version of Chimaev that fought Dricus (Du Plessis). That’s not the version of Chimaev that fought Gilbert Burns. I don’t know what that is. Maybe it was, but Sean just has that secret something that makes these guys look like that.”
Former middleweight champion Whittaker will make his light heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov (31-11 MMA, 12-9 UFC) at UFC 329 on July 11 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+). With Chimaev teasing a move up to 205 pounds himself, Whittaker was asked about potentially crossing paths with him again.
“Seeing that Khamzat, I’ll give it a go again,” Whittaker laughed.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Robert Whittaker: UFC 328 version of Khamzat Chimaev looked way off
