"Made Usman look like a featherweight" - Islam Makhachev towering over middleweight Kamaru Usman ahead of UFC 294 has fans concerned
A recent video of Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman’s interaction at the athlete hotel left MMA fans awestruck with the staggering size difference.
Makhachev, the 155-pound UFC champion, is set to take on featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 294. Kamaru Usman, meanwhile, will fight Khamzat Chimaev in the middleweight co-main event.
Fight week is usually the time when athletes are busy with their weight cut in order to be within the divisional limit at the Friday weigh-ins. Kamaru Usman and Islam Makhachev ran into each other at the athlete hotel in Abu Dhabi and had a small talk about their respective cuts.
The video of this interaction was posted on UFC Arabia's X (formerly Twitter) handle. Interestingly, Islam Makhachev appeared to be a lot bigger than Kamaru Usman, who will make his UFC middleweight debut at UFC 294.
Watch the video HERE.
The apparent size difference visible between Usman and Makhachev, whether an illusion brought on by the camera angle or not, left fans fascinated and concerned about the outcome of the fights this weekend.
Here are some of the fan reactions:
Islam Makhachev’s size advantage doesn't intimidate his UFC 294 opponent
Islam Makhachev is a big individual and he has to cut a huge amount of weight to fight in the 155-pound division.
During his first fight with Alexander Volkanovski, the Dagestani fighter was accused by Volkanovski’s teammate Dan Hooker of illegally using an IV to rehydrate after the gruelling weight cut.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Alexander Volkanovski was asked if he is concerned about Makhachev resorting to using an IV for getting a pronounced size advantage in the fight.
Makhachev’s weight, however, is the least of his concerns at the moment, as the featherweight champion said:
“I’m not gonna get involved with any of that, I’m staying away from all that. I’ve got a job to do and we’ll just settle it. I don’t care. I’ll just pack my skills all the way, but I’m not gonna get into that. There’s so many other things. Short notice, obviously being in Abu Dhabi, all that type of stuff ... mate ... at this point I’m like, ‘Who cares?’ The more adversities, the better the story, so whatever."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's comments from the 16:22 mark of the video below: