If you thought the middleweight booking between Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 was “madness” … just imagine what nearly happened when Chimaev’s original opponent, Paulo Costa, was taken down by “serious” Staph infection.
The first call went to Sean Strickland, according to a report from ESPN, but the newly-crowned middleweight champion declined because the bout was being offered on super-short notice and “Tarzan” was not far removed from his UFC 293 title fight.
That’s when Jared Cannonier entered the fold.
Unfortunately, the former middleweight title challenger, currently ranked No. 4 at 185 pounds, suffered an injury in training camp and the pairing was scrapped just as quickly as it came together, paving the way for Usman to cash in at the last minute.
Hard to not think of this conversation in a different context.
“Kamaru — his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree,” manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN. “I was like, ‘This guy knows something I don’t know.’ And he’s like, ‘Hey, they’re gonna take care of me [financially]?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
They will, in fact, do it when UFC 294 pops off on Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 294 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 294 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 294: “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 294 fight card and PPV lineup click here.