Getty Khamzat Chimaev
Mixed martial arts veteran Matt Brown believes Belal Muhammad is capable of handing Khamzat Chimaev his first UFC loss.
Chimaev is one of the fastest rising stars in the sport because of his dominance inside the Octagon. Besides his three-round war with Gilbert Burns, “Borz” has dispatched five of his UFC opponents via finish — four within the first round which includes his latest victory over Kevin Holland, who he tapped out with a brabo choke at UFC 279 in September 2022.
He has an undefeated professional record of 12-0. In contrast, Muhammad sports a 22-3 (with one no-contest) record which includes his current nine-fight unbeaten streak. “Remember the Name” most recently halted the hype train of Sean Brady in October at UFC 280 by second-round TKO.
Chimaev is currently ranked No. 3 in the welterweight division according to the official UFC standings, and Muhammad sits right behind him at No. 4.
When Brown spoke on MMA Fighting’s “The Fighter vs. the Writer,” the longtime UFC star pointed to Muhammad’s skillset being enough to derail another hype train. Brown continued, saying Remember the Name could also notch a victory over former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
“Belal and Gilbert [Burns] are very similar body types, the way they throw punches and stuff but Belal keeps a much higher pace and stays a little bit more disciplined in his approach,” Brown said. “I think Belal beats Khamzat and I’m 50-50 on him beating Usman.
“That’s a really, really close fight that I think goes to a decision and is probably a really tough call for the judges.”
Brown Said Muhammad Was ‘Biggest Threat’ at 170 Pounds
Brown continued with his praise for Muhammad, stating that Muhammad was the “biggest threat” to the men who sit at the top of 170 pounds, which includes reigning champion Leon Edwards.
“If you want to talk about biggest threat to [Kamaru] Usman, I’m going with Belal Muhammad,” Brown said. “I think Belal Muhammad is probably the biggest threat to all of these guys.
“I think Usman beats Leon and the champ at the end of the year is either Belal or Usman.”
Brown Sees Usman Earning Revenge Against Edwards
Muhammad has a history with Edwards. They fought in March 2021, but the fight was ruled a no-contest after Remember the Name suffered an eye poke that rendered him unable to continue. Edwards became the welterweight champion in August 2022 when he knocked out Usman with a head kick at UFC 278.
Since the fighters are 1-1 against each other, and Usman held the strap for years, both fighters — as well as UFC president Dana White — have shared their interest in running the trilogy match next. And if they fight, Brown sees Usman taking the belt back home.
“I think Belal is the biggest threat to Usman,” Brown said. “I don’t think anyone is going to disagree that Usman is probably going to beat Leon, barring another fifth-round knockout kind of homerun hit. Something like that.
“We knew it before the first fight, stylistically Usman is a bad matchup for Leon. But Leon really proved a lot of us wrong taking Usman down in the first round. But those second, third, fourth and most of the fifth round, I think we saw what will probably end up seeing most of the next time they fight.”