Islam Makhachev can beat Khamzat Chimaev says Josh Thompson

03 April 2022

Former UFC fighter Josh Thompson believes that Islam Makhachev has what it takes to stop Khamzat Chimaev.

Thompson talked about the same in the recent episode of his Weighing In podcast where he give his predictions for a fantasy matchup between Islam and Khamzat.

"Islam wins. That's exactly how it's gonna go. Look, I'm gonna be a hundred percent honest, I can't answer that question. You wanna know why? I haven't seen enough of Chimaev. I haven't seen how good he is the grappling. I have seen his wrestling but I haven't seen how good he is in the grappling. I haven't seen his wrestling that is needed to struggle to get takedowns. And his stand-up looks good. I think that's where Islam would probably have a harder time with him but in the wrestling and the submissions... I'll lean towards Islam,” he said (via SportsKeeda).

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Both Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev have been forces to reckon with in the UFC. Khamzat has been undefeated in the promotion and also holds an undefeated professional MMA record to his name.

Islam, meanwhile, is close to earning himself a UFC Lightweight title fight thanks to his impressive ten-fight winning streak in the promotion. Islam has not suffered a loss since 2015 and is coming off an impressive stoppage win over Bobby Green prior to which he outclassed Dan Hooker.

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What do you think will happen if Islam Makhachev fights Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comment section of the article below.