‘It’s Gonna Have to Be Somebody Like Colby Covington’- Stephen Thompson Demands More From Khamzat Chimaev to Get on the Hype Train

The UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson recently snapped his two-fight undefeated streak after a loss against Gilbert Burns at UFC 264. However, he will look to bounce back with a win in his next fight scheduled against Belal Muhammad on 18th December.

Ahead of his fight, ‘Wonderboy’ spoke to Submission Radio and discussed things going on in the welterweight division of UFC. While Thompson was talking, he also touched on the topic of the new dominant 170lbs Russian fighter, who has impressed the MMA universe with his stunning performance.

Denis Shkuratov of Submission Radio asked Thompson if he was on the Khamzat Chimaev hype train. The latter responded by saying, “Man, it’s like right there, like one little more thing than I’m on it.”

“And in the future, you could possibly definitely be seeing us fight as well. I mean, he could be fighting Gilbert Burns. He would be right there with me. With all the top five and I think you know for him to really get. It’s gonna have to be somebody like Covington with that wrestling pedigree to really test him right.”

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“Because he (Khamzat Chimaev) is known for his wrestling his control on the ground. And so are Usman and Colby Covington and these guys. So not really Gilbert. Gilbert’s more a Jiu-Jitsu guy likes to throw a little bit of boxing. But his wrestling is, you know is pretty good. You know he got me down. Still, you are looking at the top wrestlers in the division with Colby Covington and Usman. So it may take one of those guys to kind of really so us how good he really is.”

Why Is the Hype Around Khamzat Chimaev and What’s Next for Him

Khamzat Chimaev is a Russian-born Swedish fighter, who made his UFC debut in 2020. He has a professional fighting career of 10-0 under his name. Interestingly, the 170lbs fighter has finished all of his previous ten opponents.

‘Borz’ right after his debut in the promotion went on a rampage and destroyed anyone in his path. He won three fights in the same year and finished two of his three opponents in the first round.

The Russian-born cemented his position in the top-10 of the welterweight division with his stunning first-round win at UFC 268. Ever since then, he is in the headlines and many UFC fans want to see him back in action again.

‘Borz’ claimed to return to the octagon as soon as possible and has called out many fighters from the division, including Gilbert Burns and Nate Diaz. He also chimed in for a replacement after Jorge Masvidal pulled out of the Leon Edwards fight. However, nothing has been official yet.

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Hence, the fans will have to wait and see what the UFC does next for ‘Borz’ in the division. What do you make out of Thompson’s words? Who do you think should be next for Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments below.