Top UFC stars Belal Muhammad and Paolo Costa have rubbished Khamzat Chimaev's claim that he can't get an opponent for his octagon return.
Unbeaten Swede Chimaev last fought in a controversial UFC 279 co-main event, getting rid of Kevin Holland within a round after a tumultuous fight week that included a press conference-cancelling brawl and missing weight by over half-a-stone. And he is keen to get out again, claiming that the issue he's facing is a lack of opponents willing to step in the cage with him.
However, Chimaev's rivals at both welterweight and middleweight deny that claim, with both Muhammad and Costa insisting that they would be willing to fight him. The 12-0 fighter has jumped between the two divisions, but appears to have a real struggle getting down even to the extended 171lb limit for welterweight.
Commenting on an Instagram post by MMAJunkie, Costa wrote: "Does anyone still believe these bulls***s?" He also branded Chimaev "Gourmet" and posted a series of emojis of junk food. Muhammad also commented by joking that "the four opponents that said no were Nick Diaz, Tony Ferguson, Bret Hart and Chris Leben."
Diaz and Ferguson are all but finished at the top level, while Leben is retired and Hart is a 65-year-old professional wrestler. Meanwhile, Muhammad holds the No.4 ranking at welterweight just one spot behind Chimaev at No.3 and Costa is No.6 at middleweight, where Chimaev is not ranked.
Chimaev made his claim during a recent YouTube vlog, telling his fans: “Nobody wants to fight. F*** these boys. They gave me four different countries, four different opponents. Nobody wants to fight. I'm going to fight somebody. I don't know who, they change opponents all the time, every week I have a new opponent.
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"But nobody wants to fight. The guys speak a lot of trash talk, a lot of s*** about me and 'I want to fight you, I want to fight you,' but when it comes to the fight and signing a contract they always want to run away. I'm always ready, we'll see what's going to happen now."
Chimaev then claimed that it "doesn't matter" what division he fights in next, adding: "I think we'll be, hopefully, in Vegas in March, we'll see but I don't know who... I just need an opponent, I am tired of doing this trash talking, it's boring and this is not my game.
"I'm the next for a title, who are these guys going to fight? Alex Pereira [the middleweight champion] had a 6-1 record, he lost against a s*** guy who is not in the UFC - I never lost in my life. UFC don't want it, the guy don't want it, what am I going to do? If the guys run away from me, just give me somebody, I'm ready."
