The narrative ahead of his Middleweight title fight versus Dricus Du Plessis is clear, and every analyst and UFC fighter polled has roughly the same opinion: Khamzat has to win this fight quickly. The Chechen standout is a sprinter, a man possessed to tackle his opponent immediately and secure the early stoppage. In the two occasions we’ve seen Chimaev forced to fight hard for more than a round against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, his activity and general danger level has clearly dropped off. Du Plessis, conversely, has scored multiple late finishes and remains dangerous regardless of fatigue, so there’s a clear avenue to victory if the South African champion can weather the storm.
Chimaev has heard that analysis and critique, and he’s made adjustments. As part of his UFC 319 training camp, he’s teamed up with Sam Calavitta, a famed strength and conditioning coach known for his brutal garage workouts that helped TJ Dillashaw become a champion. Alongside fellow UFC 319 combatant Aaron Pico, Chimaev has been grinding away to shore up his cardio.
Check out a sample of their grueling workouts below:
Chimaev’s head coach, Joakim Karlsson, promises serious improvements from his athlete after these workouts and all the other training Khamzat has done to prepare for his first title fight.
“Man, you can’t compare Khamzat, now, this time, with (the one from) one, two years ago,” Karlsson said at a media day (via MMA Junkie). “It’s totally different. He has a different strength and conditioning coach now. It’s a different level now. I don’t think it’s fair to compare him from one, two years ago. It’s not the same.”
Historically, illness and fatigue have been viewed as the great weaknesses in Khamzat Chimaev’s attack. If he’s managed to fix both in preparation for his first title fight, Dricus Du Plessis might be in serious trouble.