Khamzat Chimaev fearlessly responds to ‘Boogeyman’ Kamaru Usman's callout, declares himself the 'Wolf'
Khamzat Chimaev responded to Kamaru Usman’s callouts during International Fight Week.
Over the past two months, Chimaev and Usman have been rumored to be potentially matched up for their next UFC fight. Unfortunately, the bout hasn’t materialized due to weight class issues, as ‘Borz’ doesn’t seem to be able to make the welterweight limit.
Dana White isn’t interested in making a catchweight bout, so Chimaev encouraged Usman to move up to middleweight. Meanwhile, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ wants to fight at welterweight to earn a title shot.
Usman participated in a media interview backstage at UFC 290 and had this to say:
“You know, at the end of the day, I have been, and still am, the boogeyman of this division. I asked for the guy. If you want to fight, you want to be a champion, cut the f*cking weight, and come fight.”
Chimaev responded with a Twitter video and had this to say:
“Kamaru Usman, why are you talking about me? You said you want to fight. The weight, no problem for you. You are the boogeyman, but I am the wolf. Come up [to middleweight].”
Khamzat Chimaev is coming off a first-round submission against Kevin Holland in September 2022. ‘Borz’ was scheduled to fight Nate Diaz at welterweight before drastically missing weight, leading to a catchweight bout with Holland. ‘Borz’ is expected to move up to middleweight permanently to prevent the weight cut.
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Kamaru Usman claims Belal Muhammad could be next if Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t stop ‘flirting online’
Kamaru Usman last fought on March 18, losing against Leon Edwards for the second consecutive time. The former UFC welterweight champion is motivated to get back on track and seems tired of allegedly waiting for Khamzat Chimaev.
During the same media interview at UFC 290, Usman had this to say about potentially fighting Belal Muhammad next instead of Chimaev:
"The only other name that's out there is probably Belal. Who else makes sense? It's Belal. He's [Chimaev] flirting back and forth with me online at this point, he's just using me for clout. If you wanna fight cut the weight and let's fight, if not, stop using me for clout, stop flirting with me online."
Muhammad is riding a nine-fight win streak, with a no-contest against Leon Edwards separating his last four wins. ‘Remember The Name’ hoped to receive a welterweight title shot in his next Octagon appearance, but Colby Covington is expected to fight Edwards later this year.