A clash of seemingly unbeatable UFC welterweights may well be around the corner. Are Belal Muhammad, riding an eight-fight undefeated streak, and surging Khamzat Chimaev, who has never lost a fight, on a collision course? Muhammad hopes so, appearing on Food Truck Diaries to discuss the “weaknesses” he saw in Khamzat’s game when Chimaev took on Gilbert Burns.
“I saw weaknesses in him.
Obviously people are like, ‘Oh man, he’s not as good as we thought he was.’ But I’m like, ‘Yo, he showed that he had the chin, he showed that he got power,’ and it’s like — you’re fighting Gilbert Burns.”
Belal Muhammad has gone from strength to strength in his recent Ocatgon appearances, taking notable scalps in Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Vicente Luque. Muhammad and Khamzat have traded barbs via social media, unofficially agreeing to fight in future, although no confirmation has emerged from the UFC as yet.
Belal Muhammad Saw Khamzat’s “Weaknesses” Against Gilbert Burns
Belal Muhammad credits a high fight IQ and willingness to strategize with his recent successes in the Octagon. When it comes to taking on an undefeated fighter in “Borz”, Belal Muhammad is confident that he’ll put together a winning strategy.
“When you get to the top five, if you’re not fighting with a strategy, you’re going to lose to the good guys.
For me, these last three fights I showed that I could fight with a strategy because they were all different fighters. I fought Demian Maia, who’s — I had to stay up on my feet. I could not get taken down, so it was all defensive wrestling.
Then I fought ‘Wonderboy,’ and I’m not going to kickbox with ‘Wonderboy,’ so I’m you’re going to go in there and take ‘Wonderboy’ down.
He’s not an easy guy to take down, and I don’t have college wrestling. I’m not a Division I wrestler, but I fight with a strategy, and I dominated more than anybody else has ever dominated him.
Then you fight a guy like Luque, who’s knocked me out, who has the most finishes at welterweight and he’s good on his feet and good on the ground. How are you going to beat a guy like that?
Oh well, with movement and footwork and then shooting in when he least expects it.”
Whether that will work against a finish-happy fighter like Khamzat is pure conjecture, but it would surely be a thriller from start to finish.
Do you want to see Khamzat vs Belal Muhammad? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQbx0440bgc
