5 reasons why Khamzat Chimaev deserves a UFC welterweight title shot if he beats Gilbert Burns

#4. Kamaru Usman has few more viable challengers right now

Reigning welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman doesn't have many viable title challengers at the moment

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.

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#3. Khamzat Chimaev might give Kamaru Usman a major stylistic challenge

Khamzat Chimaev's style could make him a tricky match for Kamaru Usman

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.