“Usman was a difficult opponent, but Hamzat beat him. How will he perform in fights against other middleweights? It's hard to say, but styles make fights. He's going to fight Strickland, and Sean has pretty good takedown defense. Not to mention the fact that he has a very unconventional striking technique.
I think Strickland will give him a tough fight. I don’t think Khamzat can easily defeat Sean. In five-round fights, Strickland is very effective because he adds from round to round. I think Chimaev is going to have a really tough test,” Whitatker is quoted as saying by MMA News.