Sean Strickland will likely be anticipating a very early takedown from Khamzat Chimaev.
Strickland's former teammate thinks that he could finish Chimaev later today, predicting a more aggressive approach due to the tension between the two.
While the undefeated champion's last fight wasn't exactly a fan favourite, he usually doesn't wait long before trying to overwhelm his opponents.
Chimaev has said that he needs to stop Strickland after fans questioned his style, but Stephen Thompson believes this mindset could backfire on 'Borz'.
Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images
Khamzat Chimaev's shaky weigh-in raised eyebrows, with many fans worried about how drained he looked ahead of his middleweight title fight.
Still, it's hard to imagine the champion straying from his usual approach—he'll likely look for a takedown in the opening moments, as he often does.
In a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Thompson drew comparisons to Jorge Masvidal's quick finish over Ben Askren: "I predict we may have another Jorge Masvidal and Ben Askren on our hands," he said.
"Check it out, maybe. Khamzat, every time he comes out, he'll either fake a high five, he'll throw like one punch and then shoot immediately. I think Strickland's got… he's waiting for that. Of course if he doesn't get it, it's going to be a bad day for Strickland. But he's got that one instant where he can make it happen."
While their rivalry has cooled since then, the lead-up to their 2019 clash was filled with tension. Still, Masvidal managed to keep his cool and took advantage of Askren's habit of shooting early by landing a perfectly-timed flying knee.
As Thompson highlighted in his analysis before the fight started at UFC Saudi Arabia: "Of course if he doesn't get it, it's going to be a bad day for Strickland."
Should Strickland miss or fail to land cleanly with the knee strike or even another counterattack during Chimaev's initial shot attempt in round one? The former middleweight champion could find himself on bottom within seconds and lose control of the entire pace of the contest as well.
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