Demetrious Johnson believes Khamzat Chimaev may have pushed himself too hard in preparation for his UFC 328 title fight against Sean Strickland.
Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) lost the UFC middleweight championship to Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) via split decision in Saturday’s main event at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. After a strong start, “Borz” appeared to fade as the fight progressed, continuing a trend that has surfaced at different points throughout his career.
Speaking on his YouTube channel after the event, Johnson (who recently spent time training alongside Chimaev) suggested the former champion’s demanding preparation may have worked against him.
“My personal opinion, I think he trains too hard,” Johnson said. “There is a point in time where, when you're in shape, you can't get any fitter. Your cardio threshold only goes so high. All you're going to get is diminishing returns.”
Johnson explained that modern fight preparation requires a more calculated approach to conditioning rather than constant high-intensity work. According to the former longtime flyweight champion, fighters need to carefully balance training loads to avoid breaking their bodies down before fight night.
“If I spent all day sparring, drilling, all that stuff, and then I go kill my body in the garage and then I go do this and this and this, you're just breaking your body down by the time you get to the fight,” Johnson said. “Your body's not your body…it's been through hell for eight to 10 weeks.”
Johnson also pointed to the evolution of sports science in MMA, arguing that recovery has become just as important as hard training.
“We have seen that less is more and more is less,” Johnson said. “I love when I see people work hard, but sometimes working too hard doesn't pay off as well. You're better off taking two days off and just chilling, relaxing, feeling the vibe, playing video games than just being in the gym twice a day, every day.”
