UFC fans are in for an absolute treat this coming weekend thanks to one of the most stacked PPV cards of the entire year, UFC 308, headlined by the featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.
Aside from the fantastic title fight topping the Abu Dhabi bill, the co-main event of UFC 308 is also set to be an extremely intriguing affair as it features the long-awaited return of undefeated phenom, Khamzat Chimaev.
Tom Aspinall weighs in on Khamzat Chimaev’s return to MMA action
Khamzat ‘Borz’ Chimaev is 13-0 as a professional and 7-0 under the UFC banner, yet there is still an air of uncertainty around the undefeated wrestler ahead of the biggest fight of his career against Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker.
Breaking down the UFC 308 co-main event via the TNT Sports YouTube channel, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall would describe Chimaev as a “berserker” before offering his thoughts on Borz’s long-awaited return fight.
“He’s just a berserker mainly, he just goes for it… He’s very good with the boxing, and he’s 6’2” as well which is very tall for the division, but what we see him do really well is faking the takedown and coming over [the top] – he’s got very heavy hands for his size.
“He’s an absolute berserker who will just fly in and take you down – a lot of time it’s done with a lot of speed and athleticism… He’ll play with his opponents. Keeps the pressure on and keeps breaking his opponents down.”
Aspinall likened Chimaev’s fights to a sprint, only going to the judges’ scorecards twice during his professional career – including his most recent fight against Kamaru Usman back in October 2023.
“This is an extremely interesting fight, especially with the recent form that Whittaker’s been on and how active he’s been – [but] that can sometimes work against you. Back-to-back training camps can take a toll on your body, so it’s going to be interesting to see how both of them look.”
Should Chimaev exit the Etihad Arena with the win, the UFC will likely push him into title contention for his next fight; although besting ‘The Reaper’ is easier said than done.
“It’s difficult with Khamzat because he’s been quite inconsistent with how often he’s fighting and who he’s fighting – everyone wants to see where he’s actually at and there’s no bigger test than someone like Robert Whittaker.”
Tom Aspinall warns Chimaev that ‘there’s no bigger test than Whittaker’
Whilst Robert Whittaker is indeed the slight betting underdog against Chimaev, don’t count out the former middleweight champion pulling off an iconic upset victory in Abu Dhabi.
“Robert Whittaker’s technique is fantastic,” hailed Aspinall, as he noted that there’s one key weapon that he’s keen to one day add to his own arsenal.
“One of my favorite [techniques] that he does, he finds the right hand and then before you know it, he sneaks this right kick behind the arm which is a really rare technique… In my opinion, the stance is going to cause Khamzat Chimaev some problems.”
‘The Reaper’ enters Fight Week with 10 career wins coming by way of KO/TKO, with Aspinall pointing to how Whittaker controls range as one of his keys to victory this coming weekend.
“All technique aside, it’s going to be really interesting to see how they get on with distance management and footwork [because] the way that Robert Whittaker uses his footwork with in-and-out movement is really difficult for offensive wrestling.
“You don’t know if he’s going to be in close or far away because he’s constantly hopping, he closes the distance and then gets out really fast which is difficult for a grapple-heavy fighter to deal with like Khamzat Chimaev.”
Depending on who you ask, the UFC 308 co-main event does feel like a ‘hero vs villain’ type of fight with Whittaker remaining one of the most popular athletes on the roster: “If you’re not a fan of this guy, what are you doing watching MMA?”
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