GSP - "You can’t only go there and try to trade blows with someone like this.”
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Georges St-Pierre believes Khamzat Chimaev’ battle with Gilbert Burns will teach him anything. In an April 9 brawl at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Fla., Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) overcame Burns (20-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), when both men were swinging for the fences. Burns attacked “Borz” over 100 times, forcing him to dig deep and go to the decision. “Borz” had run through his first four opponents in the octagon.
GSP, the former UFC welterweight champion, praises Chimaev for his toughness, but advises him not to fight like that again. He said in an interview with MMA news, “I think it was a great fight for him. He needed this because he went through everybody a little bit like butter. You need some adversity sometimes and in the adversity, you get better, you improve. So I think it was a good fight for him.
“It’s not good to get hit in the head. I like to watch him fight, but I don’t think he fought the smartest fight. I think he could have made it easier for himself. He’s just used to going through everybody like this but you can’t fight like this at the elite level. You need to prepare, to game plan, and to become the perfect nemesis for your opponent. You can’t only go there and try to trade blows with someone like this.”
READ MORE: UFC 273 results – Chimaev & Burns went on war, Volkanovski retains
St-Pierre, 40, is regarded as one of the sport’s most astute strategists, suffering little harm throughout his storied career. Andreas Michael, Chimaev’s head coach, was noticeably irritated that his top pupil had abandoned the game plan, but Chimaev eventually won.
What does Chimaev have planned for the future? St-Pierre feels Dana White’s notion of Colby Covington is a good one, but he sees lots of other possibilities for him.
Pierre said, “I think it makes sense. There are a few guys that are very good and I mean there are a lot of options right now. Colby Covington is there, Muhammad is there, there’s Leon Edwards, there’s Kamaru Usman. I heard Conor McGregor is coming back in the mix at welterweight, I don’t know we’ll see.”
