Kamaru Usman believes Khamzat Chimaev is missing one crucial piece that could elevate his game even further: a full-time head coach.
Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career last Saturday when Sean Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) defeated him in the main event of UFC 328 at Prudential Center in Newark. The defeat cost Chimaev the UFC middleweight title and sparked renewed discussion about the structure of his training camp and corner team.
During Monday’s episode of the Pound4Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman questioned the absence of a dedicated head coach in Chimaev’s corner.
“I mean, I'm impressed by how far he's gotten by just really just training himself,” Usman said. “Because in-between rounds, who's his coach? Who's giving him sound instructions, Henry?”
After Cejudo responded, “Arman Tsarukyan,” Usman expanded on his concerns.
“If you start looking at another fighter (a really, really good fighter, at that, still trying to make his way to the title) as your coach, as your head coach? Who's your striking coach? Who's your MMA coach?” Usman said. “Who's telling you, ‘Hey, we need to throw some fakes in there? If you want these takedowns a lot easier, you need to throw some feints in there.’”
Usman argued that Chimaev’s approach inside the cage lacks strategic cohesion during key moments of a fight.
“You can't just dart down and decide, ‘I'm going to stop boxing. I need to wrestle now. Oh, I'm going to stop wrestling. I just need to box now,’” he continued. “We need that coach.
“Can you imagine how great Khamzat Chimaev can still be had he had a coach? A full-time coach really just working through the phases of being a mixed martial artist. A head coach.”
Cejudo then asked whether that was the missing element in Chimaev’s overall arsenal.
“One million percent,” Usman replied. “He has everything else. When you have that hunger, when you have nothing and you have to get it out the mud…everything you have, you're grinding for that hunger.”
Usman went on to praise Chimaev’s physical tools, athleticism, wrestling ability, and striking, while insisting that guidance from a trusted coach could unlock another level in his career.
“All the time we say, ‘Man, I could be so much better if I had the funds, or if I had the backing, the support, to be able to just do nothing, worry about nothing but train…I would be so much better,’” Usman said. “He has that. Khamzat Chimaev has all of that.
“‘Oh man, if I had the athletic ability.’ Khamzat Chimaev has that. ‘Oh man, if I had wrestling.’ Khamzat Chimaev has that. ‘Oh man, if I could strike.’ Khamzat Chimaev has that. What's missing?
“It's just that person that you respect with the utmost degree to say, ‘I put it in your hands. I trust your eyes when you're on the outside looking in, watching what I can do.’ And I think that trust right there, a bond between Khamzat and finding a coach that can put that together, I think it comes out to the next level.”
