Kamaru Usman defends Khamzat Chimaev amid dwindling fan hype: "He's kind of getting the short end of the stick"
Kamaru Usman has shared his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev and the Chechen-born fighter's seemingly dwindling fan hype. Usman recalled his fight against Chimaev at UFC 294 and pointed out that 'Borz' wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly.
Chimaev defeated Usman in a middleweight contest via majority decision at UFC 294 last October. Usman replaced an injured Paulo Costa on short notice. While many expected Chimaev to win easily thanks to his significant size advantage, Usman pushed 'Borz' to his limit over three rounds.
While Chimaev ultimately got his hand raised, many believed 'The Nigerian Nightmare' would've won if the fight was a five-round affair. Chimaev hasn't featured in a fight since.
During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman addressed Chimaev's declining hype among fight fans. Pointing out that he is a former welterweight champion, Usman said:
"Because of my fight [with Khamzat] people are downplaying his skills, whether he's good or not. Everyone is saying, 'he's not that good.' But I was a champion, you know... I think he's kind of getting the short end of the stick here... I still believe that he is a problem to deal with inside that octagon, and I know from that first round I had my hands full."
Chimaev is now gearing up to face former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on June 22 at UFC Saudi Arabia. Whittaker is widely expected to be Chimaev's toughest test to date.
Colby Covington talks potential Khamzat Chimaev fight in the future
Colby Covington is intrigued by the idea of a potential Khamzat Chimaev fight. Covington recently weighed in on Chimaev's dominant run in the UFC and declared that the Chechen-born grappling savant wasn't as good as fans thought.
Chimaev has never been defeated in his professional MMA career and has a perfect 13-0 record. Thanks to his incredible grappling prowess, many consider him to be a future title contender or champion. However, 'Chaos' isn't buying into the hype. During an episode of The Rush podcast, he said:
"In a five-round fight, I would be super intrigued by that fight. I always told them I want this guy in a main event. I don't think he can last. His cardio doesn't look that good. His last fight he fought Usman at 185 [pounds] on one week's notice and I thought Usman won the fight. He landed more strikes."
Covington continued:
"I think he's going to get exposed soon. He doesn't have good cardio and, you know, he's not as good as everybody thinks he is."
Catch Colby Covington's comments below (14:15):