UFC 294 had chaos running through it’s veins, and that was no different in the co-main event between Khamzat Chimaev & Kamaru Usman
Khamzat Chimaev has been up and down between welterweight and middleweight since his UFC debut. At UFC 294 Khamzat looked to solidify his place as a major contender at middleweight. He was supposed to face #6 ranked Paulo Costa, however, he was removed due to shoulder surgery, in came the welterweight legend Kamaru Usman.
Khamzat is undefeated in the UFC since his debut in 2020 beating the likes of Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland & Li Jingliang. Kamaru Usman is coming off his second loss to Leon Edwards, however, is arguably one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history with 5 title defences.
The fight took on a new narrative as Usman moved up on short notice, with the winner promised a title shot by Dana White. Khamzat and Usman have seemingly been set to face each other for what feels like a couple of years now, the pair finally stepped into the Octagon at UFC 294.
UFC 294 Khamzat Chimaev Defeats Kamaru Usman
Round 1: Khamzat immediately looks for the takedown and goes quickly to the back, it feels like we’ve been here before. Chimaev continued with his back control and rained down punches on Usman who had no answer for the pressure. The fight went to the feet with Khamzat still on Usman’s back, Khamzat attempted a choke and Usman attempted to flip the position to relieve the pressure, but to no avail. Complete domination from Khamzat Chimaev in round 1.
Round 2: Both fighters started this round tentatively, Usman was visibly shocked at the dominance of Chimaev in round 1. Usman landed some good shots in the middle part of the round, the body kick in particular was of effect for Usman. The pace evidently slowed for both fighters and it turned into more of a distance boxing match, in which Usman had the upper hand. Chimaev landed an excellent takedown late in the round, Usman held onto Chimaev to see out the round.
Round 3: Usman made an excellent snub of Khamzats first takedown defence and little out a wry smile as the pair moved back into the centre. Usman started to throw hands in the mid part of the round which looked to worry Khamzat as he went into another rejected takedown. Khamzat stalked Usman towards the fence and secured a takedown in the centre of the cage. Usman worked hard to try and escape from half-guard, however, the strength of Khamzat kept Usman grounded. Kamaru escaped and brought the fight to the feet for the last 30 seconds where both threw hands like the fight depended on it.
In his post-fight interview, Khamzat called for an end to conflicts. He was also awarded with his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. There was a huge amount of humility from Khamzat who took the interview thanked everyone in his life and career, and did not comment on the title shot.
Official result: Khamzat Chimaev wins by majority decision
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
