"He has cleaned out the division"- Khamzat Chimaev’s coach Andreas Michael shares his thoughts on Kamaru Usman

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From left to right: Andreas Michael, Khamzat Chimaev, and Kamaru Usman [Images via @khamzat_chimaev and usman84kg on Instagram]

Khamzat Chimaev’s coach Andreas Michael shared his thoughts on various topics in a recent interview with ESPN MMA. One of them was the reigning UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.

During his chat with Brett Okamoto, Andreas Michael said that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is the best that the division has to offer. And rightfully so, as he has cleaned it out:

“We’re happy to fight against the best. And Kamaru is the best in the division. He’s a champion. He’s earned it. He has cleaned out the division. It will be like an honor to be stepping in the cage and fighting him. And of course, Khamzat is our fighter and I’m positive that he would win. That’s not disrespect to Kamaru, because Kamaru is one of the most dominant fighters out there right now. And he’s achieved a lot.”

Kamaru Usman is expected to defend his UFC welterweight title against Leon Edwards next. There are also rumors about the Nigerian fighter possibly taking on Conor McGregor.

In the meantime, Khamzat Chimaev is targeting a fight against Colby Covington. Even UFC president Dana White said it would be a “big fight.” The popular consensus is that should ‘Borz’ beat ‘Chaos’, he'd earn a title shot against whoever comes out victorious out of the Usman-Edwards matchup.

Watch Khamzat Chimaev’s coach, Andreas Michael, talk about Kamaru Usman below:

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Ali Abdelaziz weighs in on potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman matchup

Kamaru Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz was interviewed by ESPN MMA and addressed the chances of his client fighting Khamzat Chimaev. In his opinion, now is the time to beat Chimaev, as ‘Borz’ is still young in his MMA career and is yet to reach his full potential. He also stated that Usman is in a class of his own and would easily beat Chimaev if they were to fight now. Abdelaziz said:

"Khamzat is young, you know. If you want to beat Khamzat, you fight him now, you understand, because you're still very young in the sport. Remember, you have five fights but I think it's an upper echelon in this division, you know, I think it's everybody else and it is Kamaru but when you talk about Kamaru it's a completely different class."

Abdelaziz made it clear that Usman is ready to take on anyone and would be more than willing to defend the title against Chimaev if the UFC books it.

Watch Abdelaziz's recent interview with ESPN MMA below:

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