Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has defended his former opponent Khamzat Chimaev, following recent criticism of his next fight.
Khamzat Chimaev welcomed late replacement, Kamaru Usman, up to the middleweight division last October at UFC 294, after Paulo Costa withdrew from his scheduled fight with Chimaev, two weeks out.
Coming off back-to-back losses to the welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ decided now was the right time to test himself at 185lbs.
Unfortunately for the 37-year-old, he was narrowly beaten by the undefeated ‘Borz’, and is now winless in his last three outings.
Kamaru Usman defends Khamzat Chimaev following recent criticism
Khamzat Chimaev’s next fight was made official a few months back, as it was announced he would take on Robert Whittaker in a number one contender, five-round main event.
Despite the hype surrounding the 30-year-old, this will mark his first five-round main event, and it has resulted in some criticism being flung his way.
Former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping have both highlighted Chimaev’s cardio as a major weakness coming into this fight, claiming that his fight against Whittaker could be ‘disastrous’.
Usman, though, has defended his former opponent and believes people are only now downplaying his skills because of how their fight against each other went.
“I think because of (our) fight, people are kind of downplaying his skills whether he’s good or not, everyone’s saying ‘Oh he’s not that good’, but I was champion so I think he’s getting the short end of the stick.” Usman stated on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast.
“I still believe that he is a problem to deal with inside that Octagon, and I know for that first round I had my hands full, I’m not even going to lie about that.” the former champion added.
The start of big things for the UFC in Saudi Arabia
Chimaev’s main event fight against ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker takes place on June 22nd, and with a win, he will secure himself a title shot at middleweight.
Current champion, Dricus Du Plessis is rumored to be defending his title against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, on August 18th.
Not only will June 22nd mark Chimaev’s first time headlining, but it is also the UFC’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia and it will take place from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Despite the event being extremely stacked for a Fight Night event, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, wants the next event in the Kingdom to be ‘2 or 3’ times bigger.
“This is the first card in our country and it is good, but we want more.” Alalshikh said on The MMA Hour.
“The last time I saw Dana (White) in New York, we discussed and finished a deal with a big card at the end of this year or the beginning of (2025), in Riyadh, more (big by) two or three times than this card.” he added.
Also on the blockbuster June 22nd card is a heavyweight fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov, as Pavlovich looks to return to the win column.
Johnny Walker also features on the card, taking on Volkan Oezdemir in a ranked fight at 205lbs.