Kamaru Usman sees himself as big of a threat as Khamzat Chimaev.
Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) will step in on less than two weeks’ notice in a middleweight bout against Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 294 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.
Chimaev has yet to lose in his professional MMA career, but former UFC welterweight champion Usman intends on matching him wherever the fight goes.
“He’s very skilled,” Usman told TMZ. “He’s strong, he’s big, he’s fast, he can wrestle, he can grapple, he can strike. He has everything – but so do I. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings. Everybody feels invincible until someone comes in and pokes that balloon.”
Usman holds a win over current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland in 2017. UFC CEO Dana White said the winner of Usman vs. Chimaev is next in line for a title shot, and Usman thinks it’s a no-brainer.
Although his win over Strickland came over six years ago at welterweight, Usman thinks their history would make things that much more compelling.
“It’s a built-in,” Usman said. “Sean Strickland’s the champion. I’ve already taken care of him. Not to say he’s not better – he is. But I’ve got a mountain in front of me that I need to scale and climb, so we’ll get through that first and then we’ll worry about what’s next.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
