"Stop picking on guys who don’t want to fight you" - Belal Muhammad calls for No. 1 contender clash with Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev is not a fighter many UFC athletes are willing to call out, but Belal Muhammad has stepped up and demanded a fight against the rising Chechen star.
With welterweight champion Kamaru Usman injured and scheduled to face Leon Edwards upon his return, Chimaev recently decided to call out several top UFC draws instead. In a recent Twitter post, 'Borz' targeted Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, and Conor McGregor. Belal Muhammad saw the tweet and responded:
"Stop picking on guys who don’t want to fight you ... only two fighters in the top 5 that haven’t fought Kamaru winner gets next."
Stop picking on guys who don’t want to fight you .. only two fighters in the top 5 that haven’t fought Kamaru winner gets next . @danawhite @seanshelby twitter.com/kchimaev/statu… https://t.co/cUZmDaV9Ri
Belal Muhammad is currently ranked No.5 in the UFC welterweight rankings. Khamzat Chimaev sits above him in the No.3 position. It's a fight that makes a lot of sense with both men currently unbooked. It's also the biggest fight that Muhammad could land at the moment.
With Khamzat Chimaev looking to land a big money fight, he may not be interested in 'Remember the Name'. With a guaranteed title shot on the line, though, he could definitely be convinced.
Watch Khamzat Chimaev grapple with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov
While Khamzat Chimaev currently lives and trains in Sweden, he was born in the Chechen Republic and recently returned home to get married. His wedding was mainly attended by close family, but one of the special guests was Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. Shortly after the wedding, Kadyrov released a video of the occasion along with a caption calling Chimaev his brother.
Following the wedding, Chimaev visited Kadyrov to train with his sons and a video of it also ended up on Kadyrov's social media accounts. The clip showed Chimaev sparring gently with the leader's progeny, and even included some footage of 'Borz' grappling with Kadyrov himself. Shots of Kadyrov taking down Chimaev and submitting him raised eyebrows in the MMA community.
Khamzat Chimaev sparring Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov 👀🔥 https://t.co/ZQmwC24wSc
Watch the full video of Chimaev and Ramzan Kadyrov train together below:
Ramzan Kadyrov is a controversial figure in world politics. The Chechen leader has been sanctioned multiple times by the United States for human rights violations, and several fighters from Kadyrov's Fight Club Akhmat gym have found themselves banned from the US as a result of their association with him.
Kadyrov is also one of Russian president Vladimir Putin's largest supporters in his ongoing war with Ukraine. Given the negative sentiments towards the war in Europe and Sweden, Chimaev's increasingly close relationship with Kadyrov could end up hurting his reputation in the west.