After a hectic past week that saw pull-outs in the main and co-main event, UFC 294 went underway on Saturday with Khamzat Chimaev squaring off against Kamaru Usman in the main event.
Once hailed as the future at 170 pounds, Khamzat Chimaev now looks to continue the run he started at 185. After missing weight by 8 pounds at UFC 279, Chimaev was forced to move up and stay at 185 pounds. He was scheduled to take on rival Paulo Costa for weeks, with the two exchanging words on social media. However, Costa was forced to pull out following a severe elbow injury. This led to what many consider an even better matchup against Kamaru Usman. A win here would by far be the biggest in the young career of Chimaev.
The former welterweight champion comes into the fight on the heels of a two-fight losing streak at the hands of Leon Edwards. Taking the fight on just 11 days’ notice, Usman looks to start fresh at 185 pounds. A fight between Usman and Chimaev had been heavily lusted for while both were at 170, so the fight was a joy to many fans. A win over the young Chimaev would propel Usman right back to the top of the world
Dana White has also confirmed that the winner will be fighting Sean Strickland for the UFC middleweight championship next.
Khamzat Chimaev Passes Toughest Test
Chimaev immediately rushed to the center of the cage and grabbed a leg of Usman, attempting to trip and get him down. Once Khamzat got Usman to the cage, he flattened him out and moved to back mount. From there he started to land some heavy shots and looked to secure the neck of Usman. Chimaev locked in a body triangle and worked the neck until Usman stood up. Chimaev attempted the choke but Usman slammed back to the ground to break the grip.
Both men came out timid to start round two, after a whole round of wrestling in the first. After nearly no action in the first 3 minutes, Chimaev started to fire off some kicks as Usman found his boxing range. With just 30 seconds left, Chimaev landed a crucial takedown in a close round.
After a stuffed takedown in round 3, the two started to throw bombs in boxing range with both men finding success. Usman seemed to find a second wind and started to pressure and land on Chimaev, who started to desperately look for a takedown. Chimaev was able to find a leg and pull Usman down from the cage where he held him down for most of the rest of the round. Usman got up with around 20 seconds left and the two exchanged big shots to end the fight.
UFC Fighters React to Khamzat Chimaev’s Big Win
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Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
