Unfortunately this is the Game, Finishes garner hype, and having fans being emotionally invested whether they love you, or hate you will always end up with you skipping the line so to speak.
Cody did something similar when he fought Dominic Cruz back when. He had a few finishes, and was even unranked that year, but a few exciting KO's, a few back and fourth exchanges, and boom, he got a title shot, it also helped that he's managed by Ali who ALSO happens to manage Khamzat.
170 is full of Killers, and is a pretty exciting division on it's own Usman aside, but Khamzat is undoubtedly the most polarizing and talked about Fighter in that division so it helped his case, he's striking while the Iron's hot, so I can see why Neal doesn't blame him. You cash in when the opportunities arise, Khamzat's social media profile jumping to 1 Million Followers alone is all you need to know that even though him jumping the line is Bullshit, the dude is garnering Hype.