Khamzat Chimaev reveals biggest mistake he made against Gilbert Burns, promises to ‘smash somebody’ next time
For the first time in his career, Khamzat Chimaev looked vulnerable in a fight after a three-round war against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
While the undefeated welterweight eventually walked away with a win, Chimaev had to battle through some dangerous moments,
“I was too excited to knock him out,” Chimaev explained at the UFC 273 post-fight press conference.
“I was saying to everybody all week I was going to knock him out in one round. I tried to knock him out. That was wrong for me, from the beginning.
“The guy was tough, I didn’t accept that. From the first second to the last second, I tried to finish him. Next time, I’m going to work to be a little bit smarter. I’m going to smash somebody.
“It wasn’t something surprising from him, but it was wrong for me. My coach told me all the time, you love to throw down and work more technical.
Chimaev came out firing as soon as the fight started, and he nearly earned a finish toward the end of the opening round when he put Burns down with a nasty straight right hand.