Surging UFC welterweight contenders, the undefeated, Khamzat Chimaev, and Belal Muhammad appear to have verbally agreed to an October matchup on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE – with the duo engaging in a back-and-forth on Twitter.
Chimaev, the current #3 ranked welterweight contender, managed to land his fifth UFC victory back in April on the main card of UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida – defeating one-time title challenger, Gilbert Burns over the course of three, hard-fought rounds in a the event’s Fight of the Night.
As for Muhammad, the Chicago-born wrestling ace managed to avenge a November 2016 first round knockout defeat to Vicente Luque in a UFC Vegas 51 also in Apri, successfully landing his third straight victory since an official ‘No Contest’ against Leon Edwards, as well as scooping the #5 rank at welterweight.
In the time since his victory over Burns, Chimaev has been linked to a slew of potential matchups, including a rebooking against the aforenoted, Edwards, as well as a title-eliminator against former interim gold holder, Colby Covington, however, neither fight have so far come to fruition.
Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad publicly float a UFC 281 clash in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Issuing a call out to Muhammad over Twitter, Chimaev and the Illinois native both agreed to fight “for Palestine”.
“I will fight you if you don’t take the Palestinian flag into battle @bullyb170 (Belal Muhammad),” Khamzat Chimaev tweeted.
“Respect bro…,” Belal Muhammad tweeted. “I’ll bring a flag for you too and we both fight FOR Palestine… I can’t bring the flag down to battlefield anymore even if I wanted to. But ??? ???????.”
Offering to fight Muhammad before the close of this year, Chimaev suggested an Abu Dhabi, UAE outing in October – with the promotion set to land in the Middle East for UFC 281 in the final week of the month.
“October, Abu Dhabi,” Khamzat Chimaev tweeted.
In response to the AllStars MMA staple, Belal Muhammad tweeted, “Deal.”