ABU DHABI – Kamaru Usman thinks Khamzat Chimaev has lived up to the hype so far.
Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC), a former UFC welterweight champion, steps in on short notice to face Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a middleweight bout in Saturday’s UFC 294 co-main event at Etihad Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.
Undefeated Chimaev has run through most of his opposition and was dubbed as a future UFC champion since he joined the promotion. Usman has been sold on Chimaev’s talent and gave a cheeky response to Chimaev’s iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max comparison.
“I think he’s as advertised,” Usman told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “He’s very tough, he’s big, he could strike, he could wrestle, he can grapple, he can do it all. So can I. I think he’s as advertised, but you don’t know until you know.
“Ignorance is bliss sometimes. I give him all the props in the world. He’s definitely done everything he needed to do with what he’s been presented with, but iPhone Pros don’t fit in certain pockets. You might need just a regular iPhone. They both take good pictures, and they both work just fine.”
Usman’s teammate, Gilbert Burns, was able to push Chimaev to the limit in their Fight of the Night at UFC 273, but Chimaev outlasted him for the win. Usman sees himself as a different fighter than Burns, so he doesn’t have too many takeaways but expects Chimaev to have grown from that fight.
“My fight IQ, the way I see certain things or just compute certain things in the fight are slightly different,” Usman said. “So, it is what it is. If Khamzat is the true contender and potential future star that I think he could be, then hopefully he learned from that, but we’ll find out Saturday.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
