It looks like a potential fight between former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman, and undefeated Chechen contender, Khamzat Chimaev, is heating up.
Nothing is concrete at this time, but both parties confirmed their interest in a fight earlier this week. Chimaev took to social media to check off Usman’s name, which prompted “Nigerian Nightmare” to respond with his own emoji signifying his willingness to meet inside of the Octagon.
Check it out below:
Oh my pic.twitter.com/eLzHY3OOOm
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 12, 2023
@USMAN84kg I respect you, you were one of the best, you know you’re old bro, and you know it’s my time
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) May 12, 2023
“@USMAN84kg I respect you, you were one of the best, you know you’re old bro, and you know it’s my time,” Chimaev later wrote on Twitter.
Usman, 36, is coming off his second-straight title fight loss to current champion Leon Edwards. The former UFC welterweight king is undoubtedly one of the best 170-pound fighters of all time, but he’s trying to regain his footing atop the division. While most veterans in Usman’s position would take some time off after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in their career the former UFC titleholder is hoping to jump back into the mix right away. That could lead to a matchup with Khamzat.
Chimaev, 29, is coming off a dominant submission win over Kevin Holland back at UFC 279, but he hasn’t competed since then. It’s a little concerning that we haven’t seen Khamzat fight in nearly eight months, but he seems ready to come back. That said, it’s unknown at this time if UFC will give him another chance at welterweight after his UFC 279 weight miss or if they’ll force him to move back up to middleweight. We’re sure Usman would entertain a possible catchweight fight or even a matchup at 185 pounds with “Borz” if it led to a title shot after that.
For now, fight fans will have to wait and see what happens with Usman and Chimaev. It seems like a good pairing at this point in time, but UFC president Dana White is adamant that Chimaev is prolonging his return due to “personal stuff” and nobody knows for sure where the promotion sees Usman going from here.
What do you think, Maniacs? Will we see Usman vs. Chimaev next?
Let’s hear it!