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Rountree is currently helping Chimaev (15-0) prepare for his upcoming middleweight title defense against Sean Strickland (30-7) at UFC 328 on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It is widely speculated that Chimaev will move up to light heavyweight in the near future.
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Rountree admits that he wasn’t very happy to hear about Chimaev’s plans to move up. The former light heavyweight title challenger isn’t very excited about a potential matchup against Chimaev. Having trained with him, Rountree reveals that the middleweight champion gives tough competition to partners of all sizes. According to Rountree, light heavyweights are “screwed” if Chimaev moves up.
“When I first heard the news, I was a bit bummed out, really,” Rountree said in a recent media scrum captured by Cageside Press. “Just to know that a guy like Khamzat would come to the division, and that could be a potential matchup if that happened. Doesn’t make me happy, thinking about that. Training with this guy, he’s the best in the world, it’s difficult. In all areas, in stand up, in grappling, no one gets an easy round with Khamzat, doesn’t matter what weight class, what size. That was my initial thought, ‘If he made the move up, we’re all kind of screwed.’”
Considered one of the best active fighters in the world, Chimaev has run through every UFC opponent barring Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. The undefeated Chechen-born dominantly dethroned Dricus Du Plessis to win the middleweight title at UFC 319 last year.
Meanwhile, Rountree is coming off a last-round stoppage loss against Jiri Prochazka in a fight that he was winning until he wasn’t.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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