Belal Muhammad open to fighting Khamzat Chimaev

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad says he is open to fighting Khamzat Chimaev, who he says has impressed him during his UFC run.

Muhammad is currently the No. 9 ranked welterweight in the UFC, and one spot below him at No. 10 is Chimaev, who has taken the UFC by storm through his first four fights in the promotion. Chimaev smashed three foes on Fight Island last year and then, after taking a year off due to health issues stemming from COVID-19, he returned at UFC 267 last month and he smashed Li Jingliang in his return to the sport. It was a phenomenal victory by Chimaev and it got everyone connected to the sport talking about him, including his fellow divisional rivals such as Muhammad, who noticed what Chimaev did.

Speaking to MMAFighting.com in a recent interview, Muhammad explained why he has been so impressed with Chimaev so far in his UFC career. Muhammad believes that, as far as a styles clash go, he makes a really good matchup for Chimaev, and he believes that he would give him a tougher fight than anyone else.

“He’s looked so dominant, and we’ve only seen a small picture of him. Now he’s adding the talking while fighting, the Khabib (Nurmagomedov) style to it. It’s exciting for fans and fans that don’t really understand MMA and just think that he’s going to walk through everybody and kill everybody just because of how easily he’s winning,” Muhammad said. “But I think stylistically, our styles match up very well, and maybe it’s not one of those things where I think I’m going to go in there and dominate him, but I think I will definitely give him a bigger fight than anyone he’s ever fought before.”

Would you like to see the UFC book Belal Muhammad against Khamzat Chimaev?