Belal Muhammad knows better than most how long the long road to a UFC title shot can be.
At UFC 304, Muhammad finally achieved the dream all fighters have when they start MMA: he won a UFC title. But for Muhammad, the victory must have been especially sweet given how long the journey was to get to that point. To finally earn his shot at the welterweight title, Muhammad had to go on a 10-fight unbeaten streak in the promotion, including four straight wins over ranked opponents. And now, Nassourdine Imavov finds himself in a similar situation.
Imavov is currently on a five-fight win streak, all over ranked opponents, including a knockout over former two-time champion Israel Adesanya. After winning a unanimous decision over Caio Borralho in September, it seemed like Imavov was the obvious next title challenger; however, earlier this month, the UFC announced that Sean Strickland will be the first to challenge Khamzat Chimaev, doing so at UFC 328 in May. And Muhammad knows that must be tough for Imavov.
“Sucks for Imavov,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “You’ve got to feel for him. I thought he earned the title shot. I thought that he was going to get the title shot, but I think the trash talk, and the stupidity, and the era we live in now, where Strickland talks his way into a title shot. You know it’s going to get people to want to talk, to want to view, especially with Chimaev. You know they’re going to go back and forth.”
While Strickland is a former middleweight champion, this is his third crack at the belt, as he lost his rematch with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 last year. In February, he rebounded from that loss with a TKO win over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Houston, setting up this title fight to settle a personal beef with Chimaev. And Muhammad says that’s the name of the game in the modern UFC.
“You’ve got to be loud,” Muhammad said. “I think we just saw with Imavov that wins aren’t enough. It’s going to be the loudest one in the room that’s going to get the — squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
But while Muhammad sympathizes with Imavov’s plight, a part of him is also excited about Chimaev vs. Strickland. Muhammad has a long history of beef with Strickland, and he’s planning on enjoying watching Chimaev make him pay for all the talking he’s done.
“The thing I’m excited for is to see Chimaev smash him and walk through him,” Muhammad said. “I think that’s what it’s going to be. I think he’s going to be able to take him down, control him, and I’m hoping cut him open a little bit, let him bleed a little bit, and then break him mentally, and tap him out.”
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Another weekend of MMA action ahead of us and it starts in just a few hours (depending on when you read this). PFL Madrid is on Friday, and it’s a good card, so fire that up and watch during work, and then let’s all kick back and enjoy UFC London.
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