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Paul Felder recently compared Khamzat Chimaev's rise to the rise of arguably the greatest MMA superstar, Conor McGregor. Felder believes UFC newcomer Paddy Pimblett could also rise to McGregor's stature in the future.
However, 'The Irish Dragon' pointed out a major difference between Chimaev and other surging stars. While many fighters want to pace their way up to the top, Felder believes that 'Borz' is hungry to fight absolutely anybody.
The 37-year old said in a recent interview with Laura Sanko:
"I mean you gotta look at one of the greatest that we have, is Conor. He really just burst on the scene, got the Irish people behind him and just took over. I mean he literally did that, right. Paddy Pimblett is on his way to doing something like that. But the difference I think for Khamzat is, he wants the baddest dudes out there. You see, some of these guys, they wanna slow-play themselves and work their way up to the top and really feel that momentum behind them. Whereas Khamzat, now he just wants to fight absolutely everybody."
Watch Felder weigh in on Chimaev's rise below:
Paul Felder is concerned about Khamzat Chimaev's weight cuts
While Paul Felder acknowledges Khamzat Chimaev's extraordinary skillset, he is skeptical about 'Borz' making weight. Felder claimed to have been present during the Swede's last weigh-in where he came under some scrutiny.
While Felder believes Chimaev has championship potential, he isn't certain of the prospect's future at 170 lbs. The UFC color commentator recently said on an episode of The Fighter vs. the Writer:
“Even if we all agree right now that [Khamzat Chimaev is] the best guy in the division, hands down, you’ve got to prove first of all to me and I’m sure to the UFC staff that you can make welterweight easier than you did the last time. That was a s*** show. I was in the room for those weigh-ins and I’m not saying that he didn’t make weight, but he was a mess. Obviously he tried to manipulate [the situation], they pulled the towel away, they made him go to the back and they made him come back out again. You’ve got to prove you’re a welterweight."
Listen to Felder's opinion of Chimaev below:
Fortunately for Chimaev, the Chechen-born Swede was able to make weight with ease for his welterweight showdown against Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
