Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman goes up against Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday, October 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The pair squares off in a new co-main event at UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2. The bout is scheduled for three rounds at middleweight.
Chimaev was originally set to face former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa. The latter has recently undergone elbow surgery, and, reportedly, wouldn’t be cleared to compete by the doctors.
UFC 294 is headlined by a rematch between reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. The fight was also booked on a short notice, after Charles Oliveira pulled out due to training injury.
The event airs live on ESPN+ PPV in the United States.
Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev
Usman (20-3), who took the fight on a short notice, is looking to return to winning ways after suffering a pair of defeats against Leon Edwards. The 36-year-old last fought in March in London, where he dropped a majority decision in his attempt to regain the title. In their first fight in August 2022 in Salt Lake City, Edwards came out on top via fifth-round head kick KO and claimed the 170-pound belt.
Undefeated Khamzat Chimaev (12-0) makes his Octagon return after over a year of absence. In his previous outing in September 2022 in Las Vegas, the 29-year-old submitted Kevin Holland in the first round.
“You know what we’ve been dealing this week,” Dana White said. “We’ve just got the big fight done yesterday – the highly anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi – the main event [Islam] Makhachev verus [Alexander] Volkanovski. Now you’ve been waiting for the co-main event, [Paulo] Costa’s hurt, you know, all the rumors that are flying around… We got it done.”
“So, the No. 4 welterweight in the world Khamzat Chimaev is moving up to middleweight, and he will face the No. 1 welterweight in the world Kamaru Usman. So, No. 1 versus No. 4 [welterweights] at middleweight. Usman versus Chimaev. I will see you in Abu Dhabi.”
In Australia, UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 airs on Sunday, October 22 live on Kayo.
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