“I expected more from Chimaev, his fight with Usman was boring” – Sidelnikov

Khamzat Chimaev in a duel with a Nigerian Kamaru Usman I was not impressed with my actions. A Russian fighter told Kirill Sidelnikov .

Chimaev, representing the United Arab Emirates, defeated Usman by split decision on Saturday. It was previously announced that the winner of this fight would meet American UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

– To be honest, I expected more from Chimaev. Yes, he fought Usman. But I thought Chimaev would take the fight with a clear advantage. For me this fight was boring, there was nothing to watch. Chimaev has had much more spectacular fights. The judges gave him 10:8 based on the results of the first round… I would have given him 10:9. After all, 10:8 is set when the opponent cannot do anything, neither standing nor on the ground . But here it turned out that Chimaev came up from behind and closed the lock… Those who practice martial arts understand that there is no way out of such a situation. But I wouldn’t give 10:8 for that… Yes, there was domination, but this domination was not about the opponent, but about the position, let’s say it,” Sidelnikov told .

In the main fight of the tournament, the organization’s lightweight champion, Russian Islam Makhachev, eliminated the holder of the featherweight belt, Australian Alexander Volkanovski, in the first round. These fighters met in February in Australia, when Makhachev won by unanimous decision.

“I am happy with the outcome of the battle.” Makhachev completely dominated. Yes, somewhere a short notice exit could have played a role. Makhachev himself said before the fight that Volkanovski only came out for control. Compare the two fights with each other. In the second case, there was no battle as such. Quick KO… Makhachev was preparing this blow. The fight plan came true, Sidelnikov added.

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