"It gets very interesting" - Chael Sonnen plays matchmaker for Khamzat Chimaev if Colby Covington refuses fight

Chael Sonnen isn't sure whether a potential matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington will come to fruition anytime soon.

Ahead of the barnburner between Chimaev and Gilbert Burns at UFC 273, UFC president Dana White said that 'Borz' was likely to face Covington next if he managed to beat 'Durinho'.

Although Chimaev won the fight and fans would love to see him go up against 'Chaos' next, Covington hasn't made a public appearance since his reported street altercation with Jorge Masvidal outside the Papi Steak restaurant in Miami, Florida. According to Sonnen, with the the uncertainty surrounding Covington's next fight, there's one man who can step up to face Khamzat Chimaev instead.

Sonnen feels that Belal Muhammad would be the perfect candidate to replace Covington if he refuses to fight the Chechen-born Swede. According to the former UFC fighter, Muhammad has established himself as a legitimate contender after an impressive unanimous decision win over Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 51.

In a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:

"You could put [Belal] Muhammad in there. It gets very interesting, guys... That's a really interesting match. Belal is on the tip of everybody's tongue right now. Belal, in his last fight proved to be better than you thought. Don't forget he was the underdog, it's not me talking, that's the official line. Belal was the underdog [and] he turned out to be better than we knew... Chimaev turned out to be more human than we knew [so] as a community, can we agree there's a lot of reasons that's really interesting?"

Watch the video below:

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Belal Muhammad remains open to fighting both Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev

Belal Muhammad is open to fighting either Colby Covington or Khamzat Chimaev next.

While he called out Covington following his win at UFC Vegas 51, 'Remember The Name' remains willing to fight Chimaev as well. In a post-fight interaction with the media, Muhammad explained why it makes sense for him to fight either Chimaev or Covington next.

Leon Edwards is set to challenge Kamaru Usman for the title next, leaving Covington and Chimaev as the only fighters ranked above Muhammad who won their last fights inside the octagon.

Both Chimaev and Covington are currently without opponents, so Muhammad feels it makes sense for him to make himself available as a potential rival for both men. He said:

“Like I said, the two best guys above me that are winning right now are Khamzat and Colby, and neither one of them have fights.” [h/t MMA Junkie]

It'll be interesting to see what's next for Belal Muhammad.