Khamzat Chimaev showed off his impressive grappling skill against one of the top lightweights in the world during a recent sparring session.
The middleweight contender took on Arman Tsarukyan during filming for Hype Reality 3, which has been branded Russia’s answer to The Ultimate Fighter. They are coaching opposite one another on the show, and took to the cage to show off their skills in a friendly grappling exchange.
There is only around a minute of the session out, after initial footage leaked back in October. But it appears to show Chimaev clearly getting the better of the exchange, which has amused fans on social media
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Footage shows Khamzat Chimaev dominate Arman Tsarukyan in grappling
With both men likely the top contenders in their divisions, there has been interest in seeing the full sparring session between Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan. Before the Swede’s dominant win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, footage leaked showing a few seconds of the action.
But it has now been released, with many viewers noting that Chimaev was able to use his significant natural size advantage to take control of proceedings. But it was also noted how fast the middleweight was despite being so much bigger.
The plan for Tsarukyan from early was to enter a survival mission, with the lightweight star telling cameras: “I will try to defend myself and avoid getting choked because it is submission only.
“And because of this I will just work as a second number. But if I get the chance to choke or grab the neck, I will take it.”
Chimaev appeared baffled that his rival would take the challenge, noting the weight difference and claiming that Tsarukyan is aware of the levels between them. That ended up ringing true for the bigger man.
“It was a surprise to me that Arman agreed to this and wanted to wrestle me on camera,” Chimaev told the cameras. “He knew that I would win and that’s how it turned out.”
Fans note one key reason why Khamzat Chimaev beat Arman Tsarukyan in grappling match
Of course, the consensus with viewers was that the weight classes made for an insurmountable gap. While Chimaev competes at 185b and has even made welterweight a few times, he is clearly gigantic while out of camp, particularly relative to Tsarukyan.
On X, one viewer explained that: “Khamzat dominated him as expected because he fights at 185 and Arman fights at 155, Khamzat fights at weight class which is 30lbs heavier than Arman’s weight class. Khamzat does this to most guys at 185 and even 205 so theres no surprise he did this to a 155er…”
Another wrote “One of the best ground games in the game but let’s not ignore the weight difference between them,” while one more added: “Dude looks 30-40 lbs heavier…y’all praising Chimaev for this are sorry a** b****es. Dude is towering over him.”
Other users claimed that Chimaev “dog walked” Tsarukyan, who is set to face Islam Makhachev in a rematch early next year.
Khamzat Chimaev’s training footage has divided fans lately
This isn’t the only Chimaev sparring footage that has emerged in recent days. A video of the Swede hitting the pads had fans concerned for his striking, with some saying that it’s no wonder he chooses to grapple so much.
In the video, Chimaev can be seen working on his stand-up with his coach, Ildar Aisin. “Sharpening the tools? More like trying to avoid getting exposed!” One fan commented. “This is why he should stick to wrestling,” another critical fan added under the video.
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