Khamzat Chimaev left Chicago with more than just UFC gold – he also walked away with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
After dominating Dricus Du Plessis for nearly five rounds at UFC 319, pinning him to the mat for more than 21 minutes, Chimaev was crowned the new middleweight champion.
His suffocating performance ended Du Plessis’ 19-month reign and earned him recognition on the ground as well.
But not everyone has been supportive of how quickly fighters receive BJJ black belts.
For example, Islam Makhachev previously criticized the trend, suggesting belts are sometimes handed out too easily.
But Chael Sonnen doesn’t see Chimaev’s new rank that way.
Here is what Sonnen had to say about the promotion:
He was given his black belt tonight.
Now, Islam Makhachev had called out, but what Islam really did is call to our attention a reality, which is black belts are handed out a little bit too easily.
But things are not the same when it comes to Chimaev and his skillset:
And I do feel, if you look at Chimaev’s tonight, you guys will really respect his black belt…
Respect what he has done in this sport up until this point, including becoming a number one contender, including defeating Robert Whittaker as quickly as he did and doing it as a brown belt.
I think that you’ll appreciate that.
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