Tyron Woodley gives his predictions for Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington vs Belal Muhammad at RAF 13
Tyron Woodley has given his prediction for Khamzat Chimaev's RAF clash against Gilbert Burns this week; also addressing Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad.
MMA star Khamzat Chimaev is fresh off a dominant victory in his latest freestyle wrestling match, which saw him beat former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
On his part, Woodley has now chimed in with his prediction for Chimaev's next wrestling match, against Gilbert Burns, which will take place this week. "T-Wood" also gave his prediction for his archnemesis Colby Covington's imminent wrestling showdown against Belal Muhammad.
Both aforementioned matches -- Chimaev vs. Burns and Covington vs. Muhammad -- will transpire under the Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling banner on Friday.
Tyron Woodley is no stranger to Khamzat Chimaev, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Belal Muhammad
Tyron Woodley is familiar with each of the athletes involved in the upcoming RAF wrestling matches. He faced Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington in the sport of MMA under the UFC promotional banner.
Woodley suffered a unanimous decision defeat against Burns in May of 2020. His next mixed martial arts bout ended with him being stopped via fifth-round TKO by Colby Covington later the same year.
Moreover, Woodley competed against Khamzat Chimaev in a freestyle wrestling match that headlined RAF Moscow on September 5. Chimaev spectacularly bested him via pinfall in 94 seconds. As for Belal Muhammad, Woodley has extensively trained with him over the years, often referring to him as a close friend and akin to a brother.
Tyron Woodley offers a surprising take on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns; talks Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad at RAF 13
Tyron Woodley was in attendance for the much-discussed launch of former Strikeforce and Bellator MMA head honcho Scott Coker's new MMA organization, Ki MMA, in New York on September 14. Speaking to Jake Noecker of Home of Fight at the event, Woodley expressed his respect for Coker -- harking back to how Strikeforce helped him ascend to stardom as a young fighter.
Upon being questioned about the imminent RAF cruiserweight crossover title match between reigning champion Colby Covington and challenger Belal Muhammad, Woodley picked his teammate Muhammad to win.
The 44-year-old, who's long been at loggerheads with archrival Covington, stated:
"Belal is my teammate. So I'm going to go with Belal, just because Colby's a crazy guy. Skill-wise and technique-wise, he's got the stuff behind him. But Belal, he's always overachieved. So I'll never count him out; he's my brother."
Speaking of which, the Covington-Muhammad clash is set to headline RAF 13 in Miami on September 18.
Incidentally, former Woodley opponent and ex-UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev is booked to compete in the co-headlining match of RAF 13. The Chechnya-born wrestling phenom faces Gilbert Burns in a catchweight match. Chimaev previously outpointed Burns in a welterweight MMA showdown in the UFC, a three-round war, a few years back.
While many expect Chimaev to thoroughly out-wrestle BJJ savant Burns, Woodley offered a take that surprised many. Suggesting that the matchup could go either way, he said:
"Gilbert Burns, I don't know. I think cardio-wise, he may be better, and maybe present more, like, sp**zy problems. I think Khamzat is the better wrestler. So that's a toss-up."
On the MMA side of things, Chimaev recently signaled that if he doesn't get booked for a fight by December, he might take a break from competition to recover from a few injuries.
Watch Tyron Woodley weigh in on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad below (*comments at the 1:40-minute mark of the video):
