Khamzat Chimaev was simply too much for former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to handle on short notice.
After losing his original opponent Paulo Costa due to a staph infection, Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) ended up sharing the octagon with Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who stepped up on just 10 days’ notice to create a new UFC 294 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Usman competed at middleweight for the first time in his UFC career, but Chimaev’s grappling kept his undefeated record intact with a majority decision win. Official cageside judges submitted scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28.
