Daniel Cormier yells at his students who do what Khamzat Chimaev did over 10 times at UFC 319

Daniel Cormier reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s unorthodox takedowns at UFC 319

Chimaev took Du Plessis down in the opening seconds of round one, and he was able to drag the South African down at will for the remainder of the five-round contest.

When it comes to the new champ’s wrestling skills, his ability to rush level changes is well-known. From Chimaev’s dominant submission against Kevin Holland to his brutal finish versus Robert Whittaker, ‘Borz’ has frequently displayed his grappling in rapid starts.

One of the main tools has been Chimaev’s double-leg takedown, which he used to good effect against Du Plessis. But the way he landed the move surprised Cormier, who revealed he yells at people who try to do what the Chechen star did “11 times” at UFC 319.

“A double leg, and it’s from way out there,” Cormier said of the move that set up Chimaev’s total dominance at UFC 319.

“It’s crazy, because I yell at people, ‘Don’t shoot! Shooting does not work! You’ve gotta punch them to move them to shoot, because shooting straight on doesn’t work.’

“And then I watch Khamzat Chimaev do it 13 times and score 11 takedowns with it,” Cormier added. “So maybe you can shoot.”

Daniel Cormier was ‘disappointed’ in Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319

While he is well aware of Chimaev’s talents, Cormier was still unsatisfied by the lack of resistance from Du Plessis.

Cormier questioned Du Plessis’ preparation during a video posted to his YouTube channel shortly after UFC 319, admitting he had expected more from the South African.

“It was very impressive by Chimaev,” Cormier said. “If I’m being honest though, it was a little disappointing on the side of du Plessis because he knew the challenge.

“I don’t know if they prepared the right way for what challenge was in front of them. You know when you’re fighting Chimaev, you’ve got to be able to get up if taken down, and you’ve got to make the takedowns hard.

“He wasn’t able to do either of those things tonight and now he’s the former champ,” Cormier added.