ABU DHABI – Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev had speculation around their weight for different reasons, but when the time arrived, there were no issues for their anticipated UFC 294 co-main event.
Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) and Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will battle for a title shot in the middleweight division when they meet in Saturday pay-per-view co-headliner, which takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island and follows prelims on ESPN+ and YouTube.
Usman, a former longtime welterweight champion, stepped in for the injured Paulo Costa on 10 days’ notice to fight in a new division, and tipped the scale under the non-title limit of 184.5 pounds. Chimaev was seemingly forced up from welterweight after coming in 7.5 pounds heavy for his previously scheduled fight, and looked comfortable up a division at 185.5 pounds.