Luke Rockhold: 'Pressure' from 'Chechen ruler' affected Khamzat Chimaev's performance in UFC title win

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is growing quite familiar with his fellow 185-pound titleholder, Khamzat Chimaev, ahead of UFC 328. Santo Studio in Newport Beach, California, has unexpectedly become the gathering spot for the unique trio of Chimaev, Rockhold and UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. Ahead of his Saturday’s title defense against Sean Strickland in Newark, New Jersey, Chimaev put in the work with Rockhold, who is no stranger to elite-level teammates from his days at American Kickboxing Academy.

On Tuesday’s episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Rockhold said he’d rank Chimaev, 32, alongside the best training partners he’s ever had, including names like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and Islam Makhachev. "He's special,” Rockhold told Uncrowned of Chimaev. “He hits very hard.

He's so unique in his realm, so he's going to stick to what he does best, but if he can relax — and I think last time out [against Dricus du Plessis], there was a lot of pressure on him to win. This time, I think you'll see a lot more free Khamzat. And hopefully, he's get those takedowns.

And if he loses a few takedowns, he can show his stand-up, because he's very dangerous on the feet. It's just a matter of putting it all together and relaxing to the process. “I think that's the biggest key.