Khamzat Chimaev to “Cut the Line” for the 170 lbs Gold Against Leon Edwards, Dana White’s Long Time Insider Details Potential Belal Muhammad Snub

Following UFC 296, many people argued that Belal Muhammad was next in line for a title shot against Leon Edwards. The champion even agreed to fight ‘Remember the Name’ in his next title defense. However, the UFC’s play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik, recently admitted to believing that Khamzat Chimaev could edge past Muhammad to receive the title shot from Dana White instead.

Khamzat Chimaev moved to the middleweight division recently. He defeated Kamaru Usman, which brought him into title contention for the 185-pound championship. Nevertheless, Jon Anik did not count out a welterweight title fight for ‘Borz,’ which he talked about during an interview with ‘MMA Junkie‘.

Khamzat Chimaev could spoil Belal Muhammad’s plans

During a recent interview, Jon Anik revealed that he strongly believed Khamzat Chimaev could come back to the welterweight division despite just returning to the middleweight division. The long-time UFC commentator believes that the Emirati fighter should have fought Leon Edwards for the title a long time ago.

However, that could not happen since he was suffering from some medical ailments. Anik said, “Khamzat Chimaev, I think, is the guy who, you know, should have been the no.1 welterweight contender, but his health has abandoned him at times. We wish him all the best.”

Jon Anik went on to claim that Khamzat Chimaev is the only fight who could be the pick for Dana White as the next challenger for Leon Edwards. This is primarily due to the fact that ‘Borz’ is undefeated and had been on a rampage when he was in the 170-pound division.

“There’s only one guy to me that could cut the line at 70 and that would be Khamzat Chimaev because he’s undefeated. He was all the rage in the weight class for a time,” Anik added. On the other hand, he also did not take anything away from Belal Muhammad’s title shot aspirations.

Anik believes Muhammad should be in the top 15 P4p rankings

Belal Muhammad has racked up a dream winning streak. But for some reason, he has not found his way onto the pound-for-pound rankings. This surprised Jon Anik, who believes that ‘Remember the Name’ should be in the top 15, to say the least. He further stated, “Belal’s unbeaten streak is double digits [and] he gets no acknowledgment in the pound-for-pound conversation… I don’t know why he’s not top-15 pound-for-pound. It’s been a long time since he realized defeat.”

But when it came to talking about his title shot, Jon Anik appeared to agree that Belal Muhammad deserves a chance to fight for the title. Furthermore, he also referred to the instance when Shavkat Rakhmonov agreed to wait for Muhammad to get shot at the championship first. “I think it’s a slam dunk. Even Shavkat Rakhmonov, the other name in this equation, has acknowledged Belal’s candidacy,” Anik further added.

Watch This Story: Colby Covington Breaks Character And Trains With The Nelk Boys 

As of now, Dana White has not said anything about the welterweight title scene. With many people rooting for Belal Muhammad, he might very well be the possible challenger. However, cards are subject to change and there is no reason why Khamzat Chimaev may not come back to the 170 pounds in search of a UFC gold.

What do you think? Drop your comments below.

Read More: Ilia Topuria Takes a Jibe at Alexander Volkanovski’s Cooking While Sending a Warning to UFC Champ’s Intention Ahead of UFC 298