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This weekend sees UFC 273 take place in Jacksonville, Florida. In one of the event’s biggest fights, prospect Khamzat Chimaev is set to take on former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
If Chimaev can beat Burns this weekend, will it be time for the UFC to give him a welterweight title shot?
Sure, it’d probably be considered early by some fans, as ‘Borz’ would be fighting for the gold in just his sixth appearance in the octagon, but the truth is that it’d definitely be a justified decision from the promotion.
With that said, here are five reasons why Khamzat Chimaev deserves a UFC welterweight title shot if he beats Gilbert Burns.
#5. Gilbert Burns would be the best possible win for Khamzat Chimaev
It goes without saying that in most instances, a UFC fighter will need to beat at least one highly ranked opponent before claiming a title shot. Right now, Khamzat Chimaev has beaten just one top fifteen ranked opponent – Li Jingliang – hence why at this point, it wouldn’t be right to give him a shot at the gold.
If he beats Gilbert Burns this weekend, though, that would all change instantly. Essentially, a win over ‘Durinho’ would probably mean more than a win over any other welterweight in the division right now.
Sure, Burns is ranked below Colby Covington, but there’s definitely an argument that the Brazilian has achieved more impressive victories than ‘Chaos’ in recent years, as he’s not only beaten Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, but his last fight saw him overcome the highly-ranked Stephen Thompson.
Khamzat Chimaev would undoubtedly gain more notoriety if he were to defeat a bigger name like Nate Diaz or Jorge Masvidal, but in terms of climbing to the top of the rankings and earning a title shot, Burns is the perfect opponent for him.
Add in the fact that ‘Durinho’ gave reigning UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman a very tough test when they fought in 2021 – dropping him with a punch in the first round – and it goes without saying that if Chimaev can run through him like he’s done his previous opponents, it would be almost impossible to deny him a shot at UFC gold.
#4. Kamaru Usman has few more viable challengers right now
If UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman had a number of viable title challengers right now, then there’d probably be a case to be made for Khamzat Chimaev to wait his turn, even with a win over Gilbert Burns this weekend.
However, right now, that simply isn’t the case. Unlike some of the UFC’s other champions, Usman has been remarkably active since winning his title in early 2019, and has already made a total of five successful defenses.
Sure, there are plenty of top-ten ranked fighters that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ hasn’t fought yet, but outside of Leon Edwards – who is expected to take his shot at Usman in the very near future – none of them have truly singled themselves out as deserving of a crack at the belt.
So if Chimaev can overcome Burns, not only would it mean that he’d jump directly into the division’s top five, but it’d also give him the kind of win that fighters such as Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad are lacking now.
Essentially, Chimaev wouldn’t be jumping the queue if the UFC were to give him a title shot with a win over Burns. In the welterweight division, there is no queue right now – meaning it only makes sense to give ‘Borz’ the next shot at Usman.
#3. Khamzat Chimaev might give Kamaru Usman a major stylistic challenge
Right now, it’s probably fair to say that no other UFC champion has been quite as dominant over his division as welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world by the UFC, and it’s for good reason. Not only has he won a ludicrous 15 fights in a row in the octagon, but he’s almost never been tested in the octagon, even by his toughest opponents.
Realistically, the only fighters to really push him have been Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington, and both men ended up coming out on the wrong end of their bouts with the champion.
However, stylistically at least, Khamzat Chimaev looks like he has the skills to test ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ if the two men were to square off.
Usman has never been taken down inside the octagon, not even by Covington, but Chimaev’s wrestling appears to be remarkably strong, and we simply don’t know how Usman would perform if he were put on his back.
More to the point, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has always had the ability to control where a fight takes place – but against ‘Borz’, this may not be possible.
To see Usman forced out of his comfort zone would be something new entirely – and while he’d still have a chance of winning a fight against Chimaev, it’s not a stretch to say that it’d be the most intriguing fight the welterweight division could throw up at the moment.
#2. The timeline would probably work perfectly for the UFC
Perhaps the biggest thing in Khamzat Chimaev’s favor in terms of claiming a welterweight title shot with a win over Gilbert Burns is that the timeline should work perfectly for the UFC.
That’s because, according to recent reports, reigning champion Kamaru Usman is all set to defend his title against top contender Leon Edwards in July – meaning that the winner will probably be ready for another fight before the end of 2022.
It’s unlikely that the UFC would look to remove Edwards from the title bout at this stage – particularly as ‘Rocky’ has had to wait an lengthy amount of time for his shot and is on a ten-bout unbeaten run – but waiting a little longer shouldn’t matter to Chimaev.
Essentially, with a big win over Burns this weekend, ‘Borz’ should be able to stake his claim as the top contender and could even make an appearance to challenge the victor of Usman vs. Edwards inside the octagon.
If his fight with Burns were to happen after Usman vs. Edwards, then there’d be every chance that the UFC would look to hand a title shot to a different contender – but in this case, the timeline works and with a win, Chimaev could be sitting pretty and call his own shot in late 2022.
#1. A fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman would be a huge draw
Perhaps the biggest reason that Khamzat Chimaev should be given a shot at the UFC welterweight title if he beats Gilbert Burns – from the promotion’s standpoint – is that a bout between 'Borz' and Usman would probably be a huge draw on pay-per-view.
‘Borz’ is probably the most highly touted prospect to arrive in the UFC since Conor McGregor in 2013, and like ‘Notorious’ has lived up to every bit of that hype thus far.
Is Chimaev a major drawing card at this point? Given that he’s only fought once on pay-per-view thus far, we don’t know. But the fact that he’s one of the most popular fighters on the UFC’s roster – with a crazy 3.4 million followers on Instagram – it’s probably not a stretch to suggest that he could be.
Kamaru Usman, on the other hand, is somewhat of a proven draw, as his first clash with Jorge Masvidal in 2020 drew more than a million buys on pay-per-view. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ isn’t a mainstream star like McGregor, but against the right opponent, it’s clear that fans will pay to see him perform.
Chimaev – assuming he beats Burns this weekend – would almost certainly be the 'right opponent' for Usman, as he’d provide him with a stylistically difficult test and would come into the bout with a ridiculous amount of momentum.
Not only would Usman vs. Chimaev be the most intriguing welterweight title bout in years, it would also feel like a huge event, rivaling any other fight the UFC could make right now. It’s the kind of fight that could easily draw over a million buys, and with that considered, it’d be a no-brainer for the UFC to book it if both men win their next fights.
