Belal Muhammad (20-3) har officiellt äntrat welterviktsklassens övre skikt men det finns en UFC-fighter han vill möta oavsett ranking; Khamzat Chimaev (10-0).
Belal Muhammad utmanar Khamzat Chimaev – som accepterar
Muhammad har just nu sju raka segrar där han senast tog hem sin mest imponerande seger i karriären när han dominerade Stephen Thompson i lördags vid UFC Vegas 45.
Med två dominanta segrar över de forna titelutmanarna Demian Maia och Thompson så tror Muhammad att han nu gjort tillräckligt för att få utmana mästaren Kamaru Usman men om han inte får sin önskan igenom så vill han möta svenske Khamzat Chimaev som börjat kallas för den mest oönskade motståndare i welterviktsklassen. Muhammad sade till MMA Junkie att han hopas stjäla svenskens hype genom att besegra denne:
It makes sense for anybody in the division. He has the most hype in the division right now. He has that (Conor) McGregor X-factor stardom right now, where the fans think he’s untouchable. The boss thinks he’s untouchable. They all think it’s just a matter of time before he becomes champion
So for me, if I beat him, I steal all of his hype, and I think it’s worth more than beating anybody ranked in the division. Beating him is probably worth more than beating Colby Covington just because of all the hype he has right now.
So in this game, it’s about momentum, it’s about hype, and it’s about who’s hot right now. He’s the hottest right now. So beating him, I steal all that shine. I steal all that heat, so why wouldn’t I? And stylistically-wise, I think I match up very well with him. He has a very similar style to Usman, so I beat him, I just show that I belong in there with a guy like Usman and I’m the next guy that should be fighting this fight.
Innan han bokade in sin senaste match så bad Muhammad sin manager Ali Abdelaziz om att få möta Chimaev. I sina fyra UFC-matcher har svensken kört över motståndet där han senast submittade Li Jingliang i första ronden vid UFC 267.
Muhammad anser att hypen är berättigad men han anser dock att svensken ännu inte testats på allvar.
Obviously he deserves some hype just because he got punched one time in four fights. He beat my teammate, but even with that fight, anybody could get caught. It’s a fight. It’s four-ounce gloves, so you really didn’t get a true Gerald Meerschaert in there. You saw his last fight; Gerald Meerschaert got a submission win in the third round. This guy fights to the end. He just got caught in that fight, so I don’t really consider that a fight. He beat Li Jingliang, who has zero grappling at all. In the video game, he should be like a six in the attributes, grappling-wise. But I figured that’s what would happen, and he would look so dominantly just by taking him down and submitting him.
But I mean, he’s obviously good. It’s not fake, It’s not like he’s going out there and just getting lucky punches all the time. He has really good grappling, really good ground game, and grappling is king in this sport. Wrestling is king in this sport, and those are the guys that become champions, guys with wrestling. So I think he is good, I just don’t think that he’s this untouchable boogieman, the candyman that nobody wants to say his name type of guy. I just fought a guy, ‘Wonderboy,’ who a lot of guys turn down. Nobody wants to fight this guy because his style so hard to figure out, his puzzle is so hard to figure out, and I said yes to it it easily without any hesitation at all.
Khamzat Chimaev svarar
Chimaev har accepterat Muhammads utmaning via sociala medier men det är ännu oklart om UFC är intresserad av matchningen:
Let’s gooooo to kill somebody🤪🤪🤪🤪 pic.twitter.com/be9ZQZY4Am
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) December 21, 2021
@bullyb170 you number one bullshit, I need 1 minute to take your head 👊🏼
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) December 23, 2021
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