A prominent sportsbook has set the betting odds on the time of Khamzat Chimaev’s first takedown completion at UFC 328.
BetOnline has set the over/under at 18 seconds for Chimaev to get his first takedown against Sean Strickland in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 328 event, which takes place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It’s an intriguing betting market that bettors who think they have a good read on Chimaev’s wrestling skills can take advantage of this weekend.
Khamzat Chimaev Traditionally Gets Takedowns Fast
Going through Chimaev’s impressive, undefeated UFC career, he often collects his first takedown razor-fast.
- Against Kevin Holland at UFC 279, Chimaev needed just 3 seconds to complete his first takedown.
- Against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319, Chimaev needed just 8 seconds to complete his first takedown.
- Against Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, Chimaev needed just 18 seconds to complete his first takedown.
- Against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, Chimaev needed 56 seconds to complete his first takedown.
- Against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, Chimaev needed 28 seconds to complete his first takedown.
While Strickland has strong takedown defense at 76%, it still might not be enough to defend the strong takedown skills of Chimaev, who has proven he can take anyone down at will and keep them there. For Strickland to have a sliver of hope in this fight, he’s going to need to keep this fight standing, but it’s not going to be easy going up against someone wth the incredible wrestling skills of Chimaev, who it feels like makes wrestling look easier than anyone in UFC history.
• Gilbert Burns — 00:58 • Kamaru Usman — 00:27 • Robert Whittaker — 00:18 • Dricus Du Plessis — 00:08 • Kevin Holland — 00:03 • Sean Strickland — ??:??
How long does it take Khamzat to take Sean Strickland
Khamzat Chimaev Heavily Favored to Defeat Sean Strickland
The sportsbooks have set Chimaev as a -550 betting favorite to win at UFC 328, with Strickland a monster +420 underdog. This means the betting public overwhelmingly feels like Chimaev is going to win the bout, as -550 betting odds equate to roughly an 85% probability of winning.
As great a fighter as Strickland is — he is a former UFC middleweight champion, after all — Chimaev is the next level, and that’s why so many bettors feel confident in him winning this fight. He has beaten everyone in his path so far in the Octagon, often destroying the fighters that have been put in front of him. While Strickland is a very intriguing opponent, just because he is a former training partner and knows what Chimaev is all about, not many people are giving the American much of a chance of beating the Russian in this fight, despite his own strong qualities.
Should Chimaev win, there is a good chance that this is his final fight at middleweight, as he’s already teasing a move up to light heavyweight. After it appeared that he struggled to make weight at Friday’s official UFC 328 weigh-ins, it seems pretty clear that light heavyweight is going to be his home in the near future.
But before that happens, Chimaev needs to take care of business against Strickland in the main event of UFC 328, which should be one of the best fights of the year if it lives up to the hype.
Sportsbook Set Odds on Time of Khamzat Chimaev’s 1st Takedown at UFC 328