Khamzat Chimaev has been warned that fellow contender Belal Muhammad could dent his UFC title hopes.
Chimaev had an extremely positive year in 2022 where he extended his undefeated streak with two wins over Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland. The Chechen star is pushing for a title shot at 170lb, but could now move up in weight after missing his target when he stepped on the scales for his failed clash with Nate Diaz in September.
'Borz' is considered arguably one of the brightest rising stars on the roster and many have tipped him to reach the pinnacle of the sport and become champion. UFC veteran Matt Brown has suggested Muhammad holds the keys to the division and could even beat former division king Kamaru Usman.
"I think Belal Muhammad is probably the biggest threat to all of these guys," Brown told MMA Fighting when assessing potential welterweight clashes in 2023. "I think Usman beats Leon and the champ at the end of the year is either Belal or Usman. I think Belal beats Khamzat and I'm 50-50 on him beating Usman. That's a really, really close fight that I think goes to a decision and is probably a really tough call for the judges."
Chimaev is yet to have his next fight confirmed but has been showing off a much larger physique which could suggest he may move to middleweight. The Swedish contender had plotted an immediate shot at the middleweight crown against Alex Pereira but a fight failed to materialise.
It is likely he will have to wait in line for the shot while Israel Adesanya attempts to regain his crown, with Jarod Cannonier also attempting to enforce another title shot. Chimaev has suggested there is currently no-one ready and able to take an opportunity against him, despite his future plans remaining unclear.
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But Chimaev's former opponent Burns believes the Chechen star has not found himself after his weight discrepancy and expects the rising star to struggle at 185lb. “I took him down, imagine what Poatan can do,” Burns told Super Lutas. “If I was able to knock him down, his hands must be so heavy. I took him down and he is still talk trash to those guys.
Poatan’s hands are huge, Borrachinha’s hands are huge. “It’s not that he lost himself. It’s that he couldn’t find himself. Things happened too fast for him. Three fights in and he was already a star. At first, I really liked him. He would call people out and keep fighting. Then he broke character. He’s unwilling to make weight, he causes trouble. I like the guy who would call anyone out. Who would take any fight.”
