He's a smart fighter, he doesn't have 'crazy good' skills - Khamzat Chimaev on why Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards will be a '50-50' fight
UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev has weighed in on the upcoming title fight between Leon Edwards and welterweight king Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
Chimaev recently appeared on Ariel Helwani's 'The MMA Hour'. During the 25+ minute conversation, the 28-year-old discussed various topics like his upcoming fight with Nate Diaz and his fight with Gilbert Burns.
According to 'Borz', the title matchup is a 50-50 fight but the Chechen-born Swede would give Usman the edge as 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has more experience in the sport than Edwards:
"I think 50-50... Leon [has] good defense. He trained a lot of wrestling, I think. But I give a little bit more for Usman because he's a smart fighter... He do his work smartest way because he's older than us and he's been a long time in this game now, that makes you smarter when you go long wars like he did."
You can watch the full interview below:
The title fight between Usman and Edwards will be a rematch as the two previously crossed paths in 2015. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' took home the win via unanimous decision in their first encounter.
Khamzat Chimaev will headline his first UFC pay-per-view event in September
After five appearances and five wins in the UFC, Khamzat Chimaev has earned himself a main event spot for a UFC pay-per-view-event. 'Borz' will headline UFC 279 in September and his opponent will be none other than MMA superstar Nate Diaz.
Chimaev asked for the fight multiple times on social media and the UFC finally granted his wish. Chimaev is happy to get the fight as believes Diaz to be a legend of the sport:
"The guy is just a fighter. He’s still dangerous. He fights until the last second. I’m happy he’s fighting with me. He’s one of the legends. He’s one of the ones everyone is speaking [about] like, 'Gangster, gangster.' I’m going to show who’s the gangster. Like I told before, we’re from Chechnya. ... We eat the gangsters for breakfast."
This fight will be the last one on Diaz's UFC contract. So, there is a strong possibility that UFC 279 will be the final time fans see the the Stockton native compete inside the octagon.