Did Sean Strickland deserve Khamzat Chimaev title fight over Nassourdine Imavov? Belal Muhammad weighs in

Belal Muhammad recently shared his thoughts on the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland title matchup.

Chimaev and Strickland are set to throw down in a middleweight title fight at UFC 328 in May in New Jersey. While Chimaev is coming off a dominant decision win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 last August, Strickland beat Anthony Hernandez via third-round knockout at UFC Houston in his last outing.

While many believe that Strickland’s unique fighting style could be a suitable counter for Chimaev’s incredible grappling prowess and that a fight between the two was a no-brainer, others have opined that Nassourdine Imavov was a more deserving candidate for a title shot.

Imavov is on a five-fight win streak and is coming off a decision win over Caio Borralho at UFC Paris last September. Before that, he notably knocked out former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Riyadh last February.

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Muhammad made it clear that Imavov was more deserving of a title shot than Strickland and said:

“Sucks for Imavov. 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, 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.”

He added:

“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 [title fights]. Squeaky wheel gets the oil.” [H/t: MMA Fighting]

Watch the full video below:

Belal Muhammad previews Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland title fight

In the same video, Belal Muhammad previewed the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland fight. The former welterweight champion believes Chimaev will dominate Strickland on the ground and hopes the Chechen-born fighter would make the American “bleed a little bit.”

Muhammad said:

“The thing I’m excited for is to see Chimaev smash him and walk through him. 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.”