Khamzat Chimaev returned in emphatic fashion at UFC 308.
Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) ran through former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission in this past Saturday’s co-main event in Abu Dhabi. He acquired the help of Dr. Matteo Capodaglio, who works with the likes of No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan and former title challenger Marvin Vettori. Chimaev has experienced a slew of health issues in the past year, which saw the cancellation of his first scheduled bout against Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in June.
Capodaglio discussed how Chimaev avoided overtraining for this camp while also maintaining his usual intensity.
“I can do as much as I want when it comes to nutrition, but if the training volume is overwhelming, it doesn’t matter. The body is going to break down at one point,” Capodaglio told MMA Junkie. “You can have the best nutrition, but if you train eight hours a day say, the likelihood of having an injury is increased. I think the rest of the team did a great job, and Khamzat did a great job of understanding this. Not just macronutrient periodization but also training periodization.
“The training sessions were intense, but they were not never ending. So, the reduction of training volume, I guess compared to his previous camp, I wasn’t there, so I can’t say for certain, but from what I heard, also played a huge role. … I was impressed with the output that he put in the training sessions. That was intense. Like, very intense. He was hammering people. I was going into the fight with a lot of good feelings.”
Leading up to UFC 308, Chimaev mentioned the possibility of returning to welterweight. Capodaglio thinks middleweight is optimal but doesn’t see a drop back down as an impossible feat. Capodaglio helped former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt make flyweight with no issues.
“He recently moved up to 185, and he’s feeling that weight class,” Capodaglio said. “Meaning that he’s probably also gaining lean mass, he’s getting bigger. To go back to 170, and this is not just for Khamzat, I think there should be a buffer period where he works on decreasing his lean mass because of course lean mass is important for performance.
“But the thing is, if your lean mass is so big that you cannot possibly make the weight, even if you’re super lean, then the only way to make weight will be to decrease that. So, it will be something that requires time, requires work, but theoretically, with the right preparation, it could be doable.”
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