Khamzat Chimaev is doing everything he can to avoid being “fraud checked” by UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 later this year and that includes training alongside a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Chimaev, who is coming off a punishing submission finish over Robert Whittaker his last time, has been waiting a while to earn his first official UFC title shot. That opportunity will come against DDP on Aug. 16 in Chicago, Illinois, as “Borz” tries to push his undefeated UFC record to 9-0. As for du Plessis, it will be his third-straight UFC middleweight title defense after wining the belt back in Jan. 2024.
In effort to give himself the best chance to win UFC gold, Chimaev has brought former Olympic gold medalist wrestler, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, into camp to help train for DDP. While Chimaev is already one of the most dominant ground specialists in the division today it never hurts to level up again. Training alongside someone like Sadulaev will certainly up Chimaev’s game heading into UFC 319.
On Friday, Khamzat took to social media to show off a grappling session he shared with Sadulaev. In the 60-second clip, Chimaev turned away multiple takedown attempts while staying on his feet. It was pretty impressive and ultimately a showing of skill that should strike some concern into du Plessis and his fans.
Check out the footage in the above video player and let us know your thoughts!
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
