UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev has ‘Conor McGregor X factor stardom’, rival claims

Chimaev is undefeated in his UFC career but Belal Muhammad thinks he can end the perfect record

Khamzat Chimaev is undefeated (Zuffa/LLC via Getty Images)

UFC fighter Belal Muhammad wants to steal up and coming star Khamzat Chimaev’s hype, who has “Conor McGregor stardom”.

Chimaev has stunned the UFC world, so much so that many fighters have shied away from facing the unbeaten Russian. But Muhammad wants to fight him as Chimaev believes he’s “untouchable”.

Muhammad told MMA Junkie: “He has the most hype in the division right now. He has that (Conor) McGregor X-factor stardom right now, where the fans think he’s untouchable. The boss thinks he’s untouchable.

“They all think it’s just a matter of time before he becomes champion. So for me, if I beat him, I steal all of his hype, and I think it’s worth more than beating anybody ranked in the division.

“Beating him is probably worth more than beating Colby Covington just because of all the hype he has right now.”

An added incentive to facing Chimaev is a shot at a title, which Muhammad believes would come if he were victorious.

“Stylistically-wise, I think I match up very well with him,” he added. “He has a very similar style to Usman, so I beat him, I just show that I belong in there with a guy like Usman and I’m the next guy that should be fighting this fight.”

Muhammad hasn’t lost a fight since 2019 and reports suggest Chimaev is likely to accept the call out from the American.