Michael Bisping thinks Khamzat Chimaev put the entire welterweight division on notice after UFC 267 – including champion Kamaru Usman.
Chimaev (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) ran through Li Jingliang this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, choking him out in the first round for a “Performance of the Night” bonus.
The 27-year-old returned from layoff of more than a year due to lingering effects of COVID-19 and picked up right where he left off with another dominant performance, which left Bisping in awe.
“Khamzat Chimaev, for any doubts people had, this man’s the real deal,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “If you’re a welterweight, watch your back. If you’re Kamaru Usman, who’s the pound-for-pound champ right now, he’s paying attention. He saw that on Saturday night and was like, ‘OK, we could have an issue on our hands. We could have a contender. We could have someone who’s going to give me a real fight.’”
Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) puts his title on the line in a rematch against Colby Covington on Saturday at UFC 268, but Bisping has an inkling that “The Nigerian Nightmare” will be seeing Chimaev in the near future.
“Of course he’s got to beat Colby at the weekend, which I think he probably will. But anyway, the point I’m making is everybody is looking at Khamzat Chimaev,” Bisping said. “The guy is unreal. What a freak, and I mean that in a good way. To have the confidence to go forward and just grab (Jingliang) like that, throw him down – and this is what he’s done in every fight.
“Four fights, four finishes, four quick fights, only hit one time. He’s going to get to fight for the belt pretty soon. But I think he needs one more, and that would be a five-fight win streak and then he’ll fight for the belt.”
Although Chimaev called for Nate Diaz, Bisping likes the idea of the streaking contender and violent finisher Vicente Luque in a battle between two of the division’s hottest rising stars.
“Vicente Luque is out there,” Bisping said. “He needs a fight right now. He’s on a terrific streak of his own. Vicente Luque can get the job done everywhere: well-rounded skills, good jiu-jitsu, great striking, as well, and he trains with a bunch of killers down at Sanford MMA with Henri Hooft. So to me, that’s a great, logical matchup. For Vicente Luque, it gives him an opportunity to take out somebody that’s got all the hype, and then that would solidify the title fight for Vicente. And for Khamzat Chimaev, if he gets that done, then he fights for the belt.”
Michael Bisping: Khamzat Chimaev’s performance at UFC 267 must have gotten Kamaru Usman’s attention
