Jack Hermansson didn’t expect Khamzat Chimaev to be so strong.
Back in November, Hermansson and Chimaev had a freestyle wrestling match which ‘Borz’ won. The two have trained together in the past and even though Hermansson fights a weight class higher, he says his fellow Swede was just as big and strong as him.
“Yeah, he’s a big dude. I cut a few kilos down for that fight as well, but we are about the same size,” Hermansson said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “He’s ridiculously strong for a welterweight, it was a cool experience to do a freestyle match, it was my first freestyle match ever, I have a Greco-Roman wrestling background so it was a new experience. Even though it didn’t go my way it was fun to do something like that.”
Along with doing the wrestling match against Khamzat Chimaev, Jack Hermansson has also trained with him in the past. Not only did he realize how strong he is, but he realized that Chimaev is a special talent that has all the capabilities to be a UFC champion one day.
“He’s a great fighter and he has the potential to win the gold. What strikes me the most is how insanely strong he is for a welterweight, it is something special,” Hermansson said. “He’s still young in his career and needs some more challenges to prove himself but potential-wise, he has the potential to be the champion.”
Even though Hermansson lost to Chimaev in wrestling, he does want to rematch him. However, ‘The Joker’ wants it to be in grappling as he believes that is where he excels and where he can get a win over Chimaev.
“Let’s make it a grappling rematch, that is where I excel, that is my game. Twenty minutes, submission only match and it will be a different story,” Hermansson concluded.
