Henry Cejudo believes Khamzat Chimaev can make welterweight, but he’s got to adjust how he approaches the game.
At UFC 279, Chimaev missed weight for his scheduled 170-pound matchup by a whopping 7.5 pounds. Though it was Chimaev’s first weight miss inside the UFC, the amount he missed by led many to question whether “Borz” is able to make the welterweight limit anymore. Even Chimaev’s friend and teammate Darren Till said he thinks middleweight is a better place for the budding star, but former two-division champion Henry Cejudo believes Chimaev can make 170 pounds, he just needs to make some adjustments.
“You won’t come back, if you don’t get your s*** together, you won’t come back and ever make that weight again. Trust me,” Cejudo told Helen Yee when asked about Chimaev. “Even if you have big balls, you won’t make it because when you’re off that much — just imagine, he’s struggling to make 178. He gave everything he had, his coach said his tongue was wide, he was vomiting, all that other stuff. I’ve been there before. He’s going to have to really tweak his training. He’s probably training too much and that’s allowing his metabolism to eat more. There’s a way of doing it where you can still make weight, still feel good, while you’re not overworking your body, because even though you’re working your body, you can also miss weight. I used to do that, that’s the only reason why I say that.”
Cejudo has his own documented issues with making weight. Prior to signing with the UFC, Cejudo repeatedly struggled to make the flyweight limit, and his original promotional debut was scrapped when Cejudo suffered medical issues as a result of his weight cut. Cejudo was ultimately able to sort his issues out and went on to win flyweight gold in the UFC, and Chimaev could be in a similar situation because aside from the weight miss, his performances have been spectacular. Chimaev throttled Kevin Holland at UFC 279, pitching his fourth perfect game inside the UFC, and that was nearly as disappointing for Cejudo as the weight miss. Not because it was bad, but because he wants to see just how good “Borz” is.
“It was great but at the same time, I wanted to see him do work, because if he doesn’t tap out Kevin Holland, how does he look in that third, fourth, fifth round?” Cejudo said. “I really wanted to see him up against a competitor who would really challenge him because then we would know how good he is, but Kevin Holland’s got a big hole and it’s called wrestling, and it was easy work for him. But I also saw his breathing was getting a little heavy, which I thought was a little suspect for Chimaev.”
Then again, if Chimaev can simply demolish everyone he fights in the first round, maybe it doesn’t matter.
TOP STORIES
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Boxing. Canelo Alvarez wins surprisingly close decision in Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy finale
GOAT. Jose Aldo retires from MMA, released from UFC contract.
Love. MMA community reacts to Jose Aldo’s retirement.
Response. Marlon Vera, Merab Dvalishvili respond to Cory Sandhagen’s callout after UFC Vegas 60.
VIDEO STEW
UFC Vegas 60 Post Show.
UFC Vegas 60 Post Fight Press Conference.
UFC 281 trailer.
Paddy Pimblett at Disney World.
LISTEN UP
On To The Next One. Matches to make following UFC Vegas 60.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
It was quite the weekend for the GOAT.
The man.
23-year-old José Aldo. A deadly combo of speed and skills far ahead of his time. The featherweight GOAT and one of the greatest fighters MMA has ever seen. NINE title defenses, not seven. Mark that down in his HOF induction. @josealdojunior pic.twitter.com/Jsv9U9w5oj
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 18, 2022
More Aldo love.
One of the best to ever do it. Enjoy your retirement legend @josealdojunior
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) September 19, 2022
Congrats on an amazing career @josealdojunior pic.twitter.com/2T4tmAaMr5
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) September 19, 2022
Jose was easily top 5 all time great. Wanted to see more fights from him https://t.co/7VKZqFvaxA
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) September 19, 2022
José Aldo!!!
Mais forte que o Mundo.Sua História me fez acreditar que seria possível ser um campeão!!!
Obrigado por tudo amigo. pic.twitter.com/Ej4wV18XGc
— Deiveson (@Daico_Deiveson) September 19, 2022
Truth.
After this I don’t think there’s anyone in the ufc that can hurt this man https://t.co/uSIFsPKF8p
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) September 19, 2022
Conor McGregor and Henry Cejudo.
The most power twitter’s ever seen pic.twitter.com/WashK6E9Gq
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 18, 2022
.@TheNotoriousMMA hasn’t been tested by USADA in over a year…Meanwhile, I’m eligible to return next month baby! #C4 ⌛️ https://t.co/dIDp1zxnGS pic.twitter.com/ENO3AuEMjQ
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) September 18, 2022
Aljamain Sterling.
5 weeks to go!
•#AndStill #SkinTheSnake #NoSauceNeeded #KeepMoving pic.twitter.com/yi54SxKRP5— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) September 19, 2022
Down with Sean Brady.
If I never hear the lady’s voice from pride again I will be completely ok with that #ADCC2022
— Sean BRADY (@seanbradymma) September 18, 2022
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
N/A.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jose Aldo is the GOAT featherweight, and one of the best fighters of all time. 9-title defenses, youngest champion ever, the man who built the sub-155 weight classes. It was a privilege to see him compete.
If you haven’t already, or even if you have, make sure to read this piece by Shaheen Al-Shatti on “The King of Rio.”
Thanks for reading! See y’all tomorrow.
EXIT POLL
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