Why Daniel Cormier thinks Khamzat Chimaev should fight Belal Muhammad, not Colby Covington

Daniel Cormier doesn’t like the idea of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington.

Prior to Chimaev (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) outlasting Gilbert Burns in a Fight of the Year contender at UFC 273 in April, UFC president Dana White suggested that Chimaev fight Covington if he wins.

However, Cormier sees a matchup between Chimaev and streaking contender Belal Muhammad at UFC 281 in Abu Dhabi as the fight to make, and he explained why on the latest episode of his “DC & RC” podcast on ESPN.

“I was gonna say Colby Covington but the reality is, Covington beats Khamzat and Kamaru Usman wins, what do you do?” Cormier said. “And you’re looking at the same situation as we have at featherweight. We have the same situation with (Max) Holloway and (Alexander) Volkanovski, but I don’t think Khamzat waits.

“What I believe Khamzat should do because the UFC should push this because the UFC needs him and Islam (Makhachev), those guys to fight in Abu Dhabi, I think you put Khamzat versus Belal Muhammad.”

Muhammad (21-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has openly said that he’s willing to fight Chimaev. He’s coming off dominant decision wins over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque, but has received criticism for not finishing fights.

Cormier thinks just like Luque brought the best out of Muhammad, a fighter like Chimaev would, too.

“Belal Muhammad has a style that at times can be a bit less than entertaining,” Cormier added. “By putting him in there with a guy like Khamzat, it almost guarantees that he has to fight because he won’t just take Khamzat down.

“When he was forced to fight in the last fight against Vicente Luque, he showed new wrinkles to his game and showed why now Belal Muhammad is a true contender at welterweight. So I think put him in there with Belal Muhammad in Abu Dhabi for that region. A guy like Khamzat is massive.”