Khamzat Chimaev is surging through the ranks of the UFC welterweights, with #2 ranked welterweight Gilbert Burns as his next target. Khamzat’s 10-0 record, with its 100% finish rate, is enough to build serious hype around the Chechen/Swedish upstart, but UFC commentator and former lightweight Paul Felder believes Khamzat still has to prove himself.
He told The Fighter and the Writer that only a “freak grappler” can topple Kamaru Usman from his welterweight throne.
Paul Felder: Khamzat Still Has To Prove Himself for Usman Title Shot
“I really, really like Leon Edwards and I think he deserves this title shot more than anybody. But I think that’s a win for Kamaru again.
I think it’s going to take somebody that’s a freak grappler and somebody that’s just as strong as him in those departments [to beat Usman].”
Leon Edwards will be the next to face Usman. Edwards’ last career loss, nine years ago, was at Kamaru Usman’s hands, and the English fighter has long awaited his chance at UFC gold. With Usman the #1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, Paul Felder doesn’t see his cage rattling any time soon.
“Even if we all agree right now that [Khamzat Chimaev is] the best guy in the division, hands down, you’ve got to prove first of all to me and I’m sure to the UFC staff that you can make welterweight easier than you did the last time.
That was a s*** show. I was in the room for those weigh-ins and I’m not saying that he didn’t make weight, but he was a mess. Obviously he tried to manipulate [the situation], they pulled the towel away, they made him go to the back and they made him come back out again. You’ve got to prove you’re a welterweight.
Because you might be the future [185] pound champion but you’ve got to get that weight under control.”
Chimaev is a big man for a welterweight. He faced some struggles weighing in at 170 pounds to fight Li Jingliang, but was ultimately able not only to make weight but to obliterate his opponent. Fighters struggling with weight cuts is nothing new, and there’s a long way from 170 pounds to 185, where Felder thinks Chimaev might be better-suited.
Of course, the 185-pound middleweight division is currently ruled by Usman’s fellow Nigerian, Israel Adesanya, a towering six-foot-four kickboxer who has never lost a 185-pound fight.
If Khamzat does make weight, and can earn a win over Gilbert Burns, Felder says that will be a huge win on the board, but there are plenty of welterweights – like Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, and Vicente Luque – who will want to stop the Khamzat hype train.
“He’s so talented. But he’s got to beat some of these guys that have been working.” Do you think Khamzat deserves a title shot, or should he wait his turn? Let us know in the comments.
