Stephen Thompson calls UFC pushing Khamzat Chimaev a 'slap in the face' to established welterweight fighters
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson has asserted that the UFC pushing Khamzat Chimaev is a ‘slap in the face’ to established welterweight fighters.
Stephen Thompson disapproves of the UFC heavily promoting Khamzat Chimaev
Stephen Thompson noted that Khamzat Chimaev is now ranked No. 15 in the UFC welterweight division, and this makes no sense because Chimaev has only beaten unranked opponents and has only fought once in the UFC welterweight division.
Additionally, Thompson noted that Chimaev’s only win in the UFC welterweight division came over Rhys McKee, who has fought twice in the UFC and lost on each occasion.
Thompson added that McKee usually fights at lightweight, thereby insinuating that Chimaev’s win over McKee shouldn’t be accorded much significance.
'Wonderboy' then expressed his disapproval of the fact that the No. 15 ranked Khamzat Chimaev has been booked to fight the No. 3 ranked Leon Edwards. Speaking to MMA Junkie, Stephen Thompson stated:
“I had to fight through murderer’s row to get to where I’m at and so did Leon Edwards. He was on a (eight-fight) winning streak to get to where he’s at. I had to fight a slew of guys, I mean tough opponents. Robert Whittaker, Jake Ellenberger, Rory McDonald, Johny Hendricks to get to where I’m at, and then this guy just jumps past everybody. I think it’s a slap in the face to everybody who’s worked their butts off.”
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Wonderboy believes the UFC is pushing Khamzat Chimaev as a Khabib Nurmagomedov heir
Stephen Thompson explained that fighting Khamzat Chimaev is a lose-lose situation for Leon Edwards. Thompson noted that beating Chimaev won’t move Edwards up the rankings any higher or perhaps the win would earn Edwards a title shot which he already deserves.
Thompson opined that the UFC welterweight division is a bit ‘crazy’ right now. Besides, the karate savant highlighted that Chimaev is going to be given a UFC welterweight title shot if he defeats Edwards.
Furthermore, Stephen Thompson revealed that he had been wondering why the UFC has been promoting Chimaev as strongly as they have. Thompson believes that this likely has to do with Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring from the sport of MMA earlier this year.
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Stephen Thompson pointed out that both Khamzat Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are from the same neck of the woods in Russia. Thompson suggested that the UFC is looking towards Chimaev to replace Nurmagomedov as their star to please that market, and this explains why the UFC is pushing Chimaev so much.
Stephen Thompson is set to face Geoff Neal in the main event of UFC Vegas 17 on December 19th, 2020.
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